New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS): Ahead of his US visit scheduled later this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday asserted that India's ties with the United States will "deepen further" as the two countries are "bound together by history and culture".

In his first exclusive interview to an international TV channel after he assumed office May 26, Modi said that despite the ups and downs of relationship, India and US can develop a genuinely strategic alliance.

"I have a one-word answer, and with great confidence I say - yes," Modi said in an interview to CNN when asked if a strategic alliance between the two countries was possible.

"There have been ups and downs in our relationship in the last century. But from the end of the 20th century to the first decade of the 21st century, we have witnessed a big change. Our ties have deepened," Modi maintained.

He said relations between India and America should not be seen within the limits of just Delhi and Washington.

"Relations between India and America should not be seen within the limits of just Delhi and Washington. It is a much larger sphere. The good thing is that the mood of both Delhi and Washington is in harmony with this understanding. Both sides have played a role in this," Modi asserted.