The United States must respect India's right to defend itself against terrorism and maintain a zero-tolerance approach towards terrorist activities, former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday, describing Washington's relationships with New Delhi and Islamabad as "fundamentally different".
Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2026 in New Delhi, Blinken said India had emerged as a major global force, with the strategic interests shared by the two countries extending far beyond South Asia.
"India is a global force," Blinken said during a conversation with Jawed Ashraf, chairman of the India Trade Promotion Organisation.
He described the India-US relationship as global in nature, contrasting it with Washington's engagement with Pakistan, which he characterised as primarily regional.
"The relations with Pakistan are regional, and there are still going to be important areas where we need to do things with them, particularly, for example, when it comes to counter-terrorism, but these are fundamentally different relationships," he said.
๐ญ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐บ
Blinken emphasised that Washington must adopt an uncompromising position against terrorism while recognising India's security concerns and its right to respond to attacks.
"We have to have a zero-tolerance policy for terrorism. Period. And that means that we have to have respect for India's right to defend itself," he said.
At the same time, the former top American diplomat stressed the importance of preventing military escalation between India and Pakistan, given their nuclear capabilities.
He said the US approach should combine support for India's right to respond to terrorism with diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing a wider confrontation between the two neighbours.
Blinken noted that the destructive potential of the weapons possessed by both countries made diplomatic engagement particularly important during periods of heightened tension.
Reflecting on Washington's historical relationship with Islamabad, he acknowledged that American strategic priorities during the Cold War and the war in Afghanistan might have influenced successive administrations' approach towards Pakistan's civil-military establishment.
He suggested that these strategic considerations had sometimes resulted in Washington being less critical of Pakistan's internal power structure.
"And there's certainly an opportunity for the United States to do more," he added.
๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ-๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ
Discussing the evolution of India-US relations, Blinken said the two countries had moved from a period of estrangement to a strategic partnership built on converging interests.
"We moved from estrangement to a genuine and, in some ways, unique partnership, built on a convergence of strategic interests. Of course, it is also underpinned by the profound people-to-people connections between our societies," he said.
The former Secretary of State identified cooperation in emerging technologies as a major opportunity for strengthening bilateral relations.
He highlighted space exploration, quantum technology and artificial intelligence as areas where the two countries could deepen their collaboration.
"The next step is tech cooperation, our ability to work in space, tech, quantum, and artificial intelligence," Blinken said.
He indicated that expanding technological partnerships would be important to the next phase of India-US engagement.
๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ
On India's longstanding relationship with Russia, Blinken acknowledged the historical depth of bilateral ties and said Washington did not expect New Delhi to sever them.
"There will be places where we don't have the same perspectives. For Russia, we understand there is deep history between India and Russia. So, we don't want them to end it," he said.
His remarks reflected an acknowledgement that India and the US could maintain a strategic partnership despite differences over certain international issues.
Blinken, who served as the 71st US Secretary of State from 2021 to 2025 under former President Joe Biden, also discussed the changing international order and the implications of developments in American domestic politics.
He spoke about the impact of the US midterm elections and the approach of President Donald Trump's administration towards global affairs, including Washington's engagement with allies and strategic partners.
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The conversation also covered the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, and the risks posed by the continuing confrontation to regional stability and international security.
Blinken discussed the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime route for global energy supplies, and the potential consequences of disruptions to shipping through the waterway.
He stressed the need to prevent the conflict from expanding further and highlighted the importance of diplomacy in reducing tensions.
The former Secretary of State also discussed the broader implications of instability in West Asia for international security and the global economy, underscoring the importance of diplomatic efforts to achieve de-escalation.