Energy to be strong component of India-US ties, says oil minister

With prime minister Narendra Modi set to meet US president Donald Trump, petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri said energy will continue to be a very strong component of the India-US relationship and he is hopeful about the bilateral energy issue figuring in the prime minister's deliberations.

- Rituraj Baruah

Modi is scheduled to meet Trump on Thursday. The US is currently the fifth largest oil supplier to India. During the April-November period of the ongoing fiscal, India imported $4.11 billion worth of crude oil from the US, 1.8% lower than $4.19 billion a year earlier.

"As a layman, I'd be surprised if there isn't a discussion on energy. You're already buying $20 billion worth (of energy). My answer to your question is, energy will continue to be a very strong component of the India-US relationship," Puri said in an interview on Wednesday.