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The ties between two countries - Indian and the United States - which kept each other at arm's length, progressed to a new level under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and George Bush, the U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Ian Juster said on Thursday.

The ambassador was speaking during a discussion on "Evolution of the U.S. India relationship" with Lalit Mansingh, former Foreign Secretary of India and Ambassador to the United States. "The Indo-U.S. relationship used to be at an arm's length before the times of Vajpayee and Bush, who took the relationship to a new level," the U.S. Ambassador said.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, three-time Prime Minister and one of India's tallest politicians, died at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Hospital on Thursday. He was 93.

Related content: Atal Bihari Vajpayee Passes Away at 93

Agreeing with Juster, Mansingh said, "Indian diaspora did not play a major role in foreign policy formation until recent years when Indian immigrants distinguished themselves and the government focused on an outreach programme and used the Indian-American community as a lobby for the betterment of Indo-U.S. relationship."

"Indian culture is also doing well in the United States and people don't look for patronage from the government for the purpose. Most significant presence of Indians in the U.S. is of students and professionals," he said.

Over 75,000 Indians study in the U.S. and 15 percent of the Silicon Valley startups are owned by people of Indian origin, he noted.

Talking about the future of Indo-U.S. relationship, Ambassador Juster said, "The new frontier of U.S.-India relationship is the economic relationship between the two countries and we are far far away from the fulfillment of the potential. India needs to open up further for innovation and entrepreneurs."

By Sowmya Sangam