On the visit of the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to India, Former Foreign Secretary of India Nirupama Menon Rao said: "Antony Blinken's visit is a positive development, overall and the underlying message from the visit was to stress the crucial and very durable nature of the India-US partnership. Underpinning is definitely democracy, but it is also further strengthened & given meaning by the fact we have this strategic interest in building a stronger & more resilient partnership across the whole spectrum of the bilateral relations.'