WASHINGTON: The U.S.-India relationship has reached a new height under the Obama Administration as the two countries have forged landmark partnerships in several key areas like defence and energy, a top U.S. diplomat has said.

"We have carried our relationship with India to new heights, forging landmark partnerships on clean energy, higher education and defence cooperation," Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a Washington audience yesterday.

"In January, when President (Barack) Obama attended Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi as Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's honoured guest, he was the first American president to do so," Dr Blinken said in his remarks at the Center for a New American Studies, a U.S. think-tank.

Blinken said American global leadership has mobilized countries to confront the Islamic State terror group and Ebola virus.

"We have revitalised NATO's commitment to the defense of its own members, rallied European allies to support Ukraine, and penalised Russia for its actions in Ukraine," he said.

He said the U.S. has also deepened its engagement with the Asia Pacific, a region that increasingly is embracing the connection between good governance, sustainable growth, and long-term stability.

"We have enlisted China in the effort to mitigate climate change, and just this week we held the 7th U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, an opportunity to forge new areas of cooperation, even as we deal forthrightly with our differences," Blinken said.

The U.S. is coming closer every day to a major new trade agreement - the TransPacific Partnership, which, if achieved, will cover 40 per cent of world GDP with a more level playing field for American business, higher standards for labor, the environment, and intellectual property, he asserted.

Noting that the strategic environment now is more fluid and fraught with complexity than ever before, Blinken said that power among states is shifting, with new entrants and aspirants to the ranks of the majors.

"Power is shifting below and beyond the nation-state, requiring governments to be more accountable to sub-state and non-state actors, from the mayors of megacities to the private sector to super-empowered groups and individuals," he said.

"And of course, the growing interdependence of the global economy and the rapid pace of change are linking people, groups, and governments in unprecedented ways, incentivizing new forms of cooperation, but also creating shared vulnerabilities," said the US diplomat.

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