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Blinken’s visit to deepen ties with India: US
Antony Blinken previously visited India as deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration in 2015.
The US said on Friday it expects to discuss ways to “further deepen” bilateral ties and issues related to the Quad, Afghanistan and the Covid-19 pandemic during secretary of state Antony Blinken’s visit to India starting July 27, his first as the top American diplomat.
Blinken reaches New Delhi on July 27, and will have a full day of engagements on July 28, which will include meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and national security adviser Ajit Doval. He will leave for Kuwait later that day.
Blinken previously visited India as deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration in 2015.
“We expect the discussions to focus on ways to further deepen our bilateral partnership, which is very broad in scope, as well as increased convergence on regional and global issues,” US acting assistant secretary of state for south and central Asia Dean Thompson told reporters, previewing Blinken’s visit.
On bilateral issues, the US expects the discussions to be focussed on “expanding our security, defence, cyber, and counterterrorism cooperation”. More of that will be part of the upcoming 2+2 ministerial dialogue between foreign and defence ministers of the two countries later this year.
Afghanistan will figure prominently among regional issues. India is a “a critical partner in the region”, Thomson said, adding that “we welcome India’s shared commitment to peace and supporting economic development in Afghanistan”.
India has been concerned over the rapid gains made by the Taliban in Afghanistan as US-led international forces wind up their 20-year-old operations and leave, way ahead of a self-imposed deadline of September 11. The US military has said that at around 92%, the pull-out is nearly over.
Thompson added that discussions with India will be on “how we can work together to realise” the goal of a peaceful and secure Afghanistan and to “find ways to bring the parties together, and continue to pursue a negotiated settlement to end the longstanding war”.
Asked if India-Pakistan relations will figure int he talks, Thompson, reiterating the long-standing US position, said: “I would just note that we strongly believe that India and Pakistan’s issues are ones for them to work out between themselves. We are pleased to see that the ceasefire that went into place earlier this year is – has remained intact, and we certainly always encourage them to continue their efforts to find ways to build a more stable relationship going forward.”
Developments in the Indo-Pacific will figure in the secretary’s discussions, the state department official said, underscoring the importance accorded by US President Joe Biden to the region by calling a virtual summit of the Quad — India, the US, Australia and Japan — so early in his tenure, in March, just two months after assuming office.
“We’re working with India and other friends and partners in the region to advance this shared vision of the Indo-Pacific,” Thompson said, adding: “Importantly, we’ll also discuss our health collaboration to combat Covid-19, including the Quad vaccine partnership that was first announced during President Biden’s Quad summit.”
The Quad members launched a joint initiative at the summit to distribute 1 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines in the Indo-Pacific region by the end of 2022, funded by Japan and the US, manufactured by India and distributed by Australia.
Among the most pressing of global challenges the two countries cooperate on, the climate crisis will figure most prominently in Blinken’s conversations during the visit. “The partnership will reinforce our collective efforts to achieve both the goals of the Paris Agreement and our own ambitious 2030 targets for climate action and clean energy,” Thompson said, referring to the US-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 partnership launched in April.
Asked if the US side will raise human rights issues during the secretary’s visit as regards certain legislations, Thompson said: “I will tell you that we will raise it, and we will continue that conversation, because we firmly believe that we have more values in common on those fronts than we don’t. And we believe India is going to be a really important part of continuing those conversations and building strong efforts on those fronts in partnership as we go forward.”
