US President-elect Joe Biden on Monday (November 23) appointed Antony Blinken as the new US Secretary of State and Jake Sullivan as National Security Advisor.
Blinken, 58, served as undersecretary of state under President Barack Obama, while Blinken, 43, served as head of policy planning at the State Department under Hillary Clinton.
A look at Blinken’s recent remarks on India shows that his appointment as US Secretary of State is good news for India and bad news for Pakistan.
On July 9, Blinken addresses a meeting at the Hudson Institute, Washington DC and said. “Strengthening and deepening the relationship with India will be a very high priority. It is often important to the future of the Indo-Pacific and the kind of order that we all want; it is fair, stable and hopefully increasingly democratic, and it is vital to being able to address some of these great global challenges, ”he said.
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“By the way, I think this has been about the success story of the Republican and Democratic administrations, going back to the Clinton administration, the Bush administration and then the Obama-Biden administration,” he said.
Speaking of Biden’s contribution, Blinke had said: “During the Bush administration, then-Senator Biden partnered with that administration to help secure the peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement, the 123 agreement through the United States Senate, generally important to solidify our relationship, “Blinken said. .
Blinken also mentioned how during the Obama administration, the United States turned India into an “important defense partner.” “In our own administration, during the Obama-Biden administration, there was concrete progress in a whole series of initiatives and efforts both under Prime Minister Singh and then under Prime Minister Modi. There was this defense technology and a business initiative. The idea was to strengthen India’s defense industrial base and that paved the way for American and Indian companies to work together to produce important technology. We made India a so-called important defense partner, ”Blinken said.
On August 15, Blinken participated in a panel discussion on Indo-US ties and raised the issue of UN reforms. “In a Biden administration, we would advocate for India to play a leading role in international institutions and that includes helping India get a seat on a United Nations Security Council,” he said.
Speaking about China’s aggressive policy, Blinken said: “We have a common challenge that has to deal with an increasingly assertive China across the board, including its aggression towards India on the Royal Line of Control but also using its economic power to coerce others and reap unfair advantage. I think you would see Joe Biden as president investing in ourselves, renewing our democracy, working with our close partners like India, affirming our values and engaging China from a position of strength. India has to be a key partner in that effort. “
Blinken also spoke on the issue of cross-border terrorism, saying: “We would work together to strengthen India’s defense and could also add its capabilities as a counter-terrorism partner. On the question of terrorism, specifically, we have no tolerance for terrorism, in South Asia or anywhere else – cross-border or otherwise. “
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