G20 presidency 'fantastic' opportunity for Indian diaspora in US to deepen engagement: Sanjeev Joshipura

Emphasising the friendship between India and the United States, Executive Director of Indiaspora, Sanjeev Joshipura on Wednesday said while the two countries may not become formal allies, their bond as friends remains strong. He highlighted the crucial role of Indian diaspora in US and stated that India's G20 presidency is a 'fantastic' opportunity to strengthen their engagement with India.

"India in the US will never be allies. But we'll always be friends," he said in an interview with CNBC-TV18. "I think India's G20 presidency is a fantastic opportunity for the diaspora to re-up their engagement in India and with India. And it's a two way street. Now, there was a time decades ago when it was more about how diaspora can assist India and that still remains true. But it's also now about what India can bring to the world. So it goes both ways," he said.

"The US-India relationship is the understatement of the year is an important one. And you always want to be cordial to each other when you are having these bilateral meetings, and so forth. So when the two countries are meeting, we don't use the A word, but we use the F word," Joshipura said.