prominent leaders of india's freedom movement had friendly relations with the united states of america which continued well after independence from great britain in 1947. in 1954, united states of america made pakistan a central treaty organization (cento) treaty-ally. india cultivated strategic and military relations with the soviet union to counter pakistan–united states relations. in 1961, india became a founding member of the non-aligned movement to avoid involvement in the cold war power-play between the united states and the soviet union. the nixon administration's support for pakistan during the indo-pakistani war of 1971 affected relations until the dissolution of the soviet union in 1991. in the 1990s, indian foreign policy adapted to the unipolar world and developed closer ties with the united states. in the 21st century, indian foreign policy has sought to leverage india's strategic autonomy in order to safeguard sovereign rights and promote national interests within a multi-polar world. under presidents bush and obama, the united states has demonstrated accommodation to india's core national interests and acknowledged outstanding concerns. increase in bilateral trade & investment, cooperation on global security matters, inclusion of india in decision-making on matters of global governance (united nations security council), upgraded representation in trade & investment forums (world bank, imf, apec), admission into multilateral export control regimes (mtcr, wassenaar arrangement, australia group) and support for admission in the nuclear suppliers group and joint-manufacturing through technology sharing arrangements have become key milestones and a measure of speed and advancement on the path to closer us–india relations. in 2016, india and united states signed the logistics exchange memorandum of agreement and india was declared a major defense partner of the united states. according to gallup's annual world affairs survey, india is perceived by americans as their 6th favorite nation in the world, with 71% of americans viewing india favorably in 2015. a 2017 poll by gallup found that 74% of americans viewed india favorably. in the year 2017 bilateral trade (in both goods & services) grew by 9.8% to reach us$126.1 billion. india's exports to the us stood at us$76.7 billion while usa's exports to india stood at us$49.4 billion
