New Delhi, Aug. 15 -- India is committed to taking forward relations with the US on the basis of mutual respect and shared interests, the external affairs ministry said on Thursday against the backdrop of strains in bilateral ties over trade-related issues and President Donald Trump's tariff policies. The India-US defence partnership remains an important pillar of bilateral relations, with several engagements and an important military exercise scheduled for August, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, seeking to dispel reports that the trade-related row had impacted defence and strategic ties. "We remain focused on the substantive agenda that our two countries have committed to and we hope that the relationship will continue to move forward based on mutual respect and shared interests," Jaiswal said at a weekly media briefing while responding to questions on the future of India-US relations. "India and the United States share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values and robust people-to-people ties. This partnership has weathered several transitions and challenges," Jaiswal said. After more than two decades of convergence on a range of strategic and economic issues, India-US relations have run into rough weather because of Trump's moves to force New Delhi to agree to a trade deal that will lead to enhanced access to Indian markets and greater purchases of American products. Besides imposing a reciprocal tariff of 25% on India, Trump has slapped a 25% penalty on Indian goods over the continuing purchases of Russian oil. Jaiswal's remarks were in line with New Delhi's approach on focusing on long-term relationship and areas of convergence, such as collaboration on defence and security that assiduously built up in past two decades. The India-US defence partnership, "underpinned by foundational defence agreements, is an important pillar of the bilateral partnership", Jaiswal said. "This robust cooperation has strengthened across several domains," he added....