US national security advisor Jake Sullivan said that US President Joe Biden won’t be able to visit India late January but remains personally committed to deepening ties with India and shares “a close personal bond" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a report by the Hindustan Times.
“Due to scheduling demands, we notified Indian officials that the President would be unable to visit India in late January," Sullivan, who is Biden closest foreign policy aide, was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times, when asked about reports of Biden being unable to travel to India for its Republic Day ceremony.
“The President remains personally committed to carrying forward this partnership, which he has often described as the most consequential partnership for the US over the century unfolding," Sullivan was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times. The US NSA said that Biden is looking forward to engaging with PM Modi “in the weeks and months ahead".
“The President looks forward to the next meeting of the Quad leaders, and to continue our efforts to deliver results for the region and advance a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific," he further added.
The report pointed out that US envoy to India Eric Garcetti in September told that PM Modi invited Biden for the Republic Day ceremony during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. India was hoping to also host the Quad Leadership Summit around the same time if the schedules of the attending leaders permitted. However, this week officials said Joe Biden will not be coming and the Quad summit will be held later.
The report pointed out that since American officials do not comment on visits that have not been announced, it is a signal that India-US ties are strong and that the strategic relationship will continue to strengthen.
The report also said that the move signals that the relationship will remain strong despite the US Department of Justice’s recent controversy which indicted a serving Indian official in an assassination plot of a designated terrorist on American soil.
American officials, according to the report, have implied that the decision to not conduct the visit by Biden has nothing to do with the indictment.
Sullivan, while speaking to the Hindustan Times, pointed to meetings held between Biden and PM Modi during the latter’s state visit to the US earlier this year and the G20 Summit and said both leaders “affirmed a vision of the United States and India as among the closest partners in the world – and have worked steadily to advance our strategic partnership across all domains, including in critical and emerging technology, space, defence and much more. This work will continue".
Jake Sullivan and his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval lead the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (ICET) and his deputy Jon Finer earlier this month visited New Delhi to “conduct a mid-term comprehensive review of iCET with both sides agreeing to expand the scope of the mechanism", the report said.
The relationship has enhanced into a trilateral one with South Korea saying they will work with India in this domain.
Sullivan also said he “witnessed first-hand" the “close personal bond" between Biden and Modi while speaking to the newspaper and said both leaders have a “shared commitment to advancing the aspirations of their people for a prosperous future".
Location: New Delhi, India