Washington, Sep 24 (PTI) India is one of the most important friends and partners of the United States, a top American Senator said on Monday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump addressed a crowd of over 50,000 Indian Americans in Houston.

"India is one of our most important friends and partners," Republican Senator John Cornyn said. The senior Senator from Texas is the founder and Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus, which is the only country-specific caucus in the US Senate.

A strong friend of India both inside and outside the US Congress, Cornyn said the two countries share common values of freedom, democracy and free enterprise, and will always look for new opportunities to deepen this relationship.

"In you, India has a valuable friend!," Modi told Cornyn in a tweet.

Congressman Pete Olson echoed Cornyn.

"The United States and India share a bond that was made even stronger" by the "Howdy, Modi!" event," he said.

Modi retweeted Olson, saying, "It is people like you who play a key role in bringing our nations closer. Thank you for coming to #HowdyModi. Your Indian attire looked lovely!"

A large number of US lawmakers attended the mega "Howdy, Modi!" event in Houston on Sunday and frequently tweeted about it. According to Legistorm, which tracks the tweets of the US Congress members, #HowdyModi was the sixth top hashtag of the week in the Congress.

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