Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, has said that there is no need for India to be concerned over the reference to the Indo-Pak ties in a U.S.-China joint statement, asserting that U.S. has an equally important relationship with New Delhi as that with Beijing.
"I don't think there needs to be any concern in India about what the president said in China. We have very important relations with China. But we have equally important relations with India," Blake, told reporters at a news briefing in Washington.
He said that this will come out very clearly during the course of the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit beginning Monday.
Blake's remarks came a day after New Delhi slammed the reference to India and Pakistan in the joint U.S.-China statement saying it did not envisage a role by a third party in what was essentially a bilateral dispute.
Welcoming China's interest in helping to stabilize the Af-Pak region, Blake further said the Obama Administration believes that Beijing has high stakes, particularly in Afghanistan, where they have very significant investments.
"As with most of the other countries in the world, we welcome China's participation in helping to stabilize that very important part of the region," he said.
As for Indo-Pak relationship, Blake reiterated the policy of the Obama Administration that it is for India and Pakistan to decide on the substance, scope and pace of their relationship.
"We've always said, in terms of Indo-Pakistan relations, that's really up to two countries to decide how and when and the scope of that," he added.
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.