President George W. Bush welcomes Prime Minister Vajpayee of India to the Oval Office on November 9, 2001
The relative eagerness of US legislators in promoting the cause of Indian Americans stems partly from the fact that India and US had converging economic, political and security interests by the first decade of 21st century.
In recent years, American companies explored India as a great market for their products and services. They saw great potential in US-India trade.
India was one of the fastest growing emerging markets in the world, one that presented opportunities for the export of US goods and services, especially in the infrastructure field.
Numerous American companies played an important role in India’s booming high technology sector. On the sidelines of Vajpayee’s US visit in 2000, the US export-import Bank announced an agreement with India to insure nearly USD 1 billion in US exports to India.
The US and India began cooperation in fighting terrorist threats by forming a counter-terrorism Joint Working Group in November 1999. Both governments began working together to coordinate counter-terrorism strategies.
The common bond of democracy and the rule of law enhanced this cooperation.
Both the American and Indian Navies conducted joint military exercises in the Indian Ocean, the special forces of both armies conducted military exercises in Alaska, and paratroopers from the American and Indian armies conducted exercises in India.
South Asian America 