Washington: India has no role in the US presidential election. It doesn’t matter who stands in the election and who wins, India always comes out ahead. Bipartisan relations with India have deepened in recent decades. For India, it does not matter whether there are Democrats or Republicans in the White House. Both are good for him. President Joe Biden has infused a new energy in relations with India both bilaterally and multilaterally. He and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have met several times bilaterally and personally in Washington DC and on the sidelines of multilateral fora around the world.
They will meet again in Australia in May at the Quad summit. Modi is then expected to visit Washington DC on a state visit. Biden will later travel to New Delhi for the G20 summit. In the meanwhile they may also meet. Joe Biden has raised the Quad to the level of leaders and has impressed it unexpectedly. Launched the Indo-Pacific Framework for Economic Prosperity with India as a key member. There is no restriction on India to buy S-400 Russian air defense system. Both the countries have also taken important steps towards joint defense manufacturing for cooperation on new technologies.
However, there have also been challenges in the relationship between the two countries. The two countries have been at loggerheads over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Americans first complained that India was not forthright in condemning the invasion and then, fumed over India’s purchase of Russian oil despite Western sanctions. But the Biden administration maintained its relationship with India despite these impasses and India has done the same. Although neither Biden nor Modi started this relationship. Both carried forward the works of their predecessors. The basis of these ties is President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who signed the Indo-US Civil Agreement despite adverse circumstances. The 2008 nuclear deal between the two countries ended India’s nuclear isolation following the 1998 Pokhran twin tests.
India, Japan, Australia and the US later formed the Quad with the efforts of President Donald Trump, which was abandoned when Australia pulled out in 2008. The first meeting of Quad 2.0 took place in 2018 on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Manila, Philippines. It was raised to the level of foreign ministers in 2019 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting. Biden took it to the level of leaders, as it was one of his first foreign policy initiatives.
The Indo-US relationship is shrouded in bipartisanship on both sides and acceptance in both capitals. However, there have been occasions when it has been ignored. In 2016, India was so sure of Hillary Clinton’s victory that it made little or no effort to engage with Trump, and then in 2019, Modi addressed a rally jointly with Trump in Houston and Texas. Called for Trump to be elected for a second term. However, such occasions have come rarely.
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