As New Delhi embarks on the path of the next level of economic reforms

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aimed towards rapid growth and development, a top Obama Administration official said that India has no more important partner than the US in this endeavor.

"The modernisation of India and the lifting up of hundreds of millions of Indians out of poverty necessarily remains the focus of the Indian government.

"This extraordinary -- and so far extraordinarily successful -- effort requires India to sustain its high rate of economic growth, open markets for its goods and services, and attract the investment needed to realize its vision of inclusive development," Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns said.

Burns his remarks on 'Is there a future for the US-India partnership?' said, "There is no more important partner for India in this endeavor than the United States. Over the past decade, our bilateral trade has doubled and then almost doubled again.

"Our total direct investment in India rose 10-fold, from $2.4 billion in 2000 to $27.1 billion in 2010."

The event was organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Brookings Institute, a Washington-based eminent American think tank.

The official said India-US bilateral economic relationship is anchored in the realisation that their long-term interests are essentially congruent and mutually reinforcing.