The call between the two leaders, who have known each other for several years, put an end to speculation that New Delhi had allied itself too closely with the outgoing president. Donald trump. Indian officials noted that as vice president, Biden hosted an official luncheon for Modi and presided over his speech at the joint session of Congress during the Indian prime minister’s visits in 2014 and 2016, suggesting that they did not expect setbacks in interacting with the new administration.
He spoke by phone with the president-elect of the United States, @JoeBiden, to congratulate him. We reiterate our firm commitment to Indo-U… https://t.co/Pp1m2sq77K
– Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 1605636480000
The exchanges also implicitly confirmed New Delhi’s recognition, first conveyed in a congratulatory tweet from Modi, that Biden is the winner in an election result that is still being contested by Trump.
“The president-elect thanked the prime minister for his congratulations and expressed his desire to strengthen and expand the strategic partnership between the United States and India together with the first vice president of South Asian descent,” Biden’s transition team said in a reading. Of the call. , revealing Biden invoking Kamala harris in the context of improving ties.
Modi also referred to Kamala Harris according to a statement from the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which he expresses his “best wishes to the daughter of an Indian immigrant whose election to the second highest public office in the United States has been hailed in India.” .
Although Harris is not expected to play a major role in foreign relations, there has been some concern in hyper-nationalist circles in India that he will take a hard line on issues such as civil liberties and human rights given their reservations about the Citizenship Amendment Act and the repeal of Article 370. “We have to remind Kashmiris that they are not alone in the world. We are following the situation,” Harris said in an interview, irritating the Indians sensitive to criticism on the subject.
But reflecting a realism and urgency that will put other issues on top, Biden’s statement said the president-elect “looks forward to working closely with the prime minister on shared global challenges, including containing Covid-19 and defending against future ones. health crisis, addressing the threat of climate change, launching global economic recovery, strengthening democracy at home and abroad, and maintaining Indo-Pacific region. ”
Some critics analyzed the statement to highlight Biden’s reference to strengthening democracy (the Indian reading did not mention this), while others noted that any implicit criticism in this regard now applies to both the US after an election. unequal that is testing its institutional weight. Some analysts also saw a potential dilution in the incoming administration’s engagement with India vis-a-vis China.
“India’s importance in US strategy appears to be on the verge of eroding. It has signaled the likely demise of the ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ (FOIP) strategy and a resumption of cooperation with China in areas where interests converge, “he said. Brahma chellaney, adding in a separate comment that “sandals are to Biden what egomania is to Trump.”
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