US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo today said India ought to be one of America's closest partners.

Speaking to the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, he said for scores of reasons, India needs to be central to what the United States do, particularly for South Central Asia and Southeast Asia issues.

Responding to questions from lawmakers about how to further strengthen the US-India relationship, Pompeo said the United States ought to do everything it can to make sure that India becomes one of America's closest partners.

He said a sustaining a strategic dialogue with India was something that would enjoy strong support in the United States.

Pompeo said, both he and Defence Secretary, James Mattis will jointly meet Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shortly for the inaugural dialogue.

The decision for the meeting was taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump in their bilateral meeting in June last year.