US President Joe Biden conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday that democracy was an “important issue” in the bilateral relationship, but he does not believe in “one country lecturing another” and it is important to maintain a degree of humility, according to Kurt Campbell, the Indo-Pacific coordinator at the US National Security Council.
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At a press briefing for the White House press corps travelling with President Joe Biden, Campbell, who is a key architect of the India policy in White House and was present at the meeting between Biden and PM Narendra Modi, also said that India is disappointed that Russia and China aren’t at the G20 Summit.
On the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping, Campbell said, “I think it is a disappointment for India that Russia and China aren’t here.”
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The US official said that there was “undeniable warmth and confidence” between Modi and Biden and has in the past often attributed the recent progress in bilateral ties to the personal dynamic and trust between the leaders.
{{/usCountry}}The US official said that there was “undeniable warmth and confidence” between Modi and Biden and has in the past often attributed the recent progress in bilateral ties to the personal dynamic and trust between the leaders.
{{/usCountry}}In response to questions about democracy, Campbell said, “The President is very clear about the importance of the health of democracy. He doesn’t do this in such a way that suggests that one country is lecturing to another but rather that we all face shared challenges, and we think it’s important that we are constantly asking the hard questions about our democracy and he made very clear again in the meeting with Prime Minister Modi, that this is important issue in our bilateral relationship.”
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On whether there had been improvements on democratic freedoms, Campbell told reporters, “I don’t think many of you believe that there would be a press conference in Washington DC and there was. We have insisted on a number of things and I think we have seen evidence of that. There are a number of things in India that we believe are quite strong and healthy. And there are other issues that frankly, we continue to have dialogue over. I think this continues to be a work in progress.”
But the US official added that the key was to maintain a “respectful dialogue”, and approach challenges “with a degree of humility”, given some of the challenges that the US faced domestically as well.