A File photo of India-US joint military exercise

WASHINGTON: Observing that the US and India need each other, a top Indian-American professor has said that common interests between the two countries "far outweigh" the different geopolitical decisions they take.

In an op-ed published in The Denver Post, Nanda said there is an alignment between the two countries on several issues pertaining to China such as its ambitious One Belt One Road plan and the multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, running through Pakistani-occupied Kashmir.

"The US needs India and India needs the US. Common interests between these two countries far outweigh the different geopolitical decisions they take, and hence the momentum should continue in a positive direction," Ved Nanda who is Evans University Professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law said.

The US and India are now engaged in joint naval and army exercises.

On economic relations, along with sales in US civil aviation and military equipment, now crude oil is added, as well, he wrote.

"India is the biggest growing market for Americans and the US remains a dominant investment partner for India," said Nanda who was awarded with the Padma Bhushan, India's third- highest civilian award.

In his op-ed titled "A growing relationship between the US and India", Nanda wrote that he has sensed a rare consensus among foreign policy wonks about the current state of India-US relations and its future trajectory: the relationship is quite positive.

"From a period of uncertainty and the relations between the two countries being occasionally on a kind of roller- coaster, a significant improvement has occurred during the last decade, perhaps due to the convergence of not simply values but also mutual interests," Nanda wrote.

Noting that the change from Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific is to indicate the special role of India in the region, Nanda said unlike in the past, no longer does the US equate India with Pakistan when regional issues are discussed.