India expects policy continuity with US regardless of election outcome, official says

India's Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran attends a news conference in New Delhi, India, January 31, 2023. Adnan Abidi/File Photo

SINGAPORE - India expects "policy continuity" with the United States no matter what the result is in the U.S. presidential election, the country's chief economic adviser told Reuters.

India's Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran was speaking to Reuters in Singapore just as Republican Donald Trump declared victory in Tuesday's election.

"To a large extent, it will be policy continuity either way. So there'll be variations by degrees," Nageswaran said.

"We will deal with whoever America chooses to elect as president."

Nageswaran said he expects economic relations with U.S. also to remain steady.

In September, Trump called India a "very big abuser" of the trade relationship between the two countries, but softened the blow by saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "fantastic."

Democratic President Joe Biden's administration rolled out the red carpet for Modi in June last year, touting deals in defence and commerce.

(Reporting by Xinghui Kok; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Frances Kerry and Raju Gopalakrishnan)