WASHINGTON: America's relationship with India has never been as stronger as it has been under the Obama Administration, the US State Department has said.

"We've got a strategic partnership in place. We're cooperating at an unprecedented level on education and science and technology, as well as economics, trade, health, agriculture," State Department Spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.

"You name the sector - we're cooperating with India well in it. This is obviously to the benefit of the citizens of both our countries, rather," he noted.

The State Department spokesman, however, regretted the instances in recent past wherein Indian diplomats including Ambassadors have been subject to pat downs at airports.

"Regarding those incidents by the TSA (Transportation and Security Administration), the pat downs, we've said in the past that we have the utmost respect for Ambassador Shankar as well as the Permanent Representative Puri and the tremendous work that they're doing in support of the US-Indian relations," he said.

"We obviously, at the time, regretted any inconvenience that Ambassador Shankar had to endure," he added.