The India-US relationship is strong and getting stronger, the White House said, adding that President Joe Biden, when he looks back at his term, will be most proud of deepening the partnership with India, making it more inclusive and broadening it. "I think one word -- well, actually, three words: strong, and getting stronger," White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said on Tuesday during a press briefing here.
He was responding to a question by PTI on how he would characterise the trajectory of bilateral relations under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Biden as his term as the American leader ends soon. "Biden has invested a lot in our bilateral relationship with India," Kirby told PTI. He elevated the Quad group of Australia, Japan, India and the US to the level of a leader and welcomed Modi for an official state visit last June. "We've elevated our strategic partnership to the highest level. We are pursuing a defence relationship on various systems that will make not just the Indian people safer, but people safer throughout the Indo-Pacific, said Kirby.
And Kirby says President Biden appreciates the perspective Modi brings to these discussions. "I mean, he lives in that neighborhood; he understands it. And of course, he's the leader of one of the most vibrant democracies in the world." So I think as the president looks back at his term, I believe one of the things he will be most proud of is deepening this partnership with India, but just as critically, making that partnership more inclusive and broadening it so that it is not just a bilateral relationship, he said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio visited Wilmington, Delaware, on 21 September, where the Quad leaders were hosted by Biden for the fourth Quad Leaders' Summit. According to Kirby, India is a full-on member of this Indo-Pacific Quad and a real contributing partner, as testified in Wilmington. "And it's more than security. It's on the economic, it's on technology, it's on energy and clean energy transition, and international investments on so many levels."
On Tuesday, Biden addressed world leaders from the podium of the UN General Assembly as he made his last address as President of the US since he's pulling out of the presidential election. The US heads into presidential elections in just over a month, with Americans set to vote on November 5 and pick either Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris or Republican candidate former President Donald Trump as their next leader.
It was earlier in the summer when Biden announced he will not run again for the presidency of the United States, thereby relinquishing the baton to Harris, the first woman of Indian and Black heritage to be nominated as an American presidential candidate. "This summer, I had a choice: whether to run for a second term as President. It was a tough choice. Being president has been the honour of my life. There is so much more I want to get done. As much as I love this job, I love my country more. I decided, after 50 years of public service, it's time for the new generation of leadership to take my nation forward. My fellow leaders, let us never forget that some things are more important than staying in power. It's your people," Biden said to a round of huge applause from the world leaders in the UNGA hall. "We are here to serve people, not the other way around."
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