New Delhi, Jan 30 : US Ambassador Eric Garcetti on Tuesday hailed the swift action taken by the Indian Navy against pirates to rescue sailors of merchant ships operations ensuring the safety of shipping in the Indian Ocean.

Addressing a meeting of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Garcetti said the Indian Navy was not only rescuing Indian crew but also sailors belonging to other countries being attacked by pirates and missiles of terror groups.

This reflects the bigger strategic role that India was playing in the Asian region, he added.

Garcetti said that India is the biggest country in the region, and because of its democratic values, was looked upon by other countries to provide protection.

He said that the India-US relationship was not an additive India+US relationship but a multiplicative India x US relationship in terms of the power it brought with the world's two biggest democracies coming together.

The ambassador said that the stronger India-US ties defence relationships were also reflected in the deals signed between the two countries in the co-production of defence equipment. He cited the recent signing of the GE engines deal for military planes as an example.

The US has not shared this technology even with its close alliance partners but was making it available to India. This shows the importance that the US attaches to India, he added.

/IANS