Bhart President Donald Trump from 2018-2019 and former US Ambassador to the United Nations believes that the India-US relationship could be a "defining event" of the 21st century as India continues its rise as a major global power. In fact, John Bolton called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "strong leader" of his own right.
Speaking exclusively to the IANS on Wednesday ahead of the crucial US Presidential elections next month, Bolton reflected on PM Modi's leadership, the significant role being played by India to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, and the Indian PM's camaraderie with Trump.
"I think India obviously is continuing to rise.". This now holds the largest population in the world, and with the tensions that are growing with China, an opportunity for foreign investment - establishing a supply chain in India as an alternative to China makes a lot of sense from the US point of view. The widespread knowledge of the English language makes India an extremely attractive place. We have even seen the Biden administration look for ways to have closer linkages between India, the Middle East, and Europe, which I think would also positively affect world trade generally.
So I think there's a very positive future ahead," Bolton said. While many world leaders are congratulating India on its rising global stature and the strength of its growing economy under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, New Delhi has also been working hard on exploring ways toward a negotiated settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, maintaining a consistent position and proclaiming a peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy.
Well, I think Narendra Modi is a very strong leader and it opens the possibility that, if we work through constituencies like the QUAD with Japan, Australia, India, and the United States, there's a lot we can do together. I don't know how much success he will have as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia. This is, very, very intense war for the Ukrainians. It's an existential question on the future of their country.
And rightly, to my mind, they think of that they were the object of an unprovoked aggression on behalf of the Russians both in 2014 and in 2022 why NATO should be helping Ukraine as we are. But if there's something to be contributed and it is acceptable both to Russia and Ukraine, for Modi in personal capacity or official capacity, to try to resolve the conflict, I don't think anybody in US would have any opposition to that, Bolton said.
Although a widely-anticipated meeting between PM Modi and the Republican presidential candidate failed to come off during his hectic US trip last month, PM Modi and Trump appear to be forging a great personal rapport, with the former US President describing the Indian PM as "a fantastic man", as he did during an election event in Michigan on September 19.
Bolton, who witnessed firsthand the developing amity between the two leaders during his tenure at the NSA, said it eventually bodes well for both countries, especially if Trump comes out victorious in the much-awaited US Presidential elections next month. "I think the US-India relationship could well be the defining event of the 21st century.". Perhaps the most important foreign policy priority for both countries is how we work together, how we are dealing with this threat from China and all of these complicated problems in the world.
I do think that Trump and Modi have a good personal relationship, and in Trump's view, he thinks if he has good personal relationship with the leader of another country, then the two countries have good relations. That is an overstatement. But it certainly, especially with friendly countries, if the two leaders have a good relationship, that can help overcome, you know, problems that develop," said Bolton, who served as Assistant to the US President and National Security Advisor from April 2018 to September 2019.
A former U.S. ambassador to the UN from 2005 to 2006, now 75, has voiced his concern over some agencies painting a motivated story about India and raising questions on India's diverse, pluralistic, and democratic ethos. "Well, you know, India has, I think, one of the largest Muslim populations of any country in the world". And, the success of Indian democracy since the partition in 1947 has been based on mutual respect among widely varying kinds of faiths and populations and also one of the reasons why India has become a great nation.
So I think it's important that it continues. And, I don't see any reason to think it won't under Prime Minister Modi or anybody else," he remarked.
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