'India emerging as important regional strategic partner to US'

India is emerging as a very important regional strategic partner for the US that has played an important role in helping Afghanistan by supporting the war-torn country's economy, a top US official has said.

The US recognises India's contributions in Afghanistan where New Delhi has pledged about USD 3 billion for various developmental projects since 2001, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters yesterday.

"India is emerging as a very important regional strategic partner. They have played an important role in supporting the Afghan government and, in particular, supporting the economy," Nauert said.

India has provided developmental assistance, they have provided economic assistance, they're hosting an important economic conference in India next week, she said.

"They've done a lot in terms of development and helping to promote Afghanistan's economy. So we appreciate that, we're grateful to that, and we look forward to India continuing to play a role in what we believe is an eventual – what we hope is an eventual peace process in Afghanistan," Nauert said.

"They've done a lot in terms of providing development funds to Afghanistan so far. We applaud them for that. They've pledged about USD 3 billion since 2001. So we continue to thank them for that and look forward to them hopefully doing more to be a part of the solution," she said.

"We want Pakistan to be able to do more and we intend to work with those countries for an Afghan-led peace process," the State Department official said.