Biden's Secretary of State-designee Blinken sees India ties as 'high priority', important to Indo-Pacific 'order'

Antony Blinken, who has said that strengthening and deepening ties with India will be a “high-priority” in a new administration, has been designated for the post of secretary of state by President-elect Joe Biden. He said India will remain important "to the future of the Indo-Pacific and the kind of order that we all want.” Making the announcement of key foreign policy and national security designees on Monday, Biden said, “We have no time to lose when it comes to our national security and foreign policy. I need a team ready on Day One to help me reclaim America’s seat at the head of the table, rally the world to meet the biggest challenges we face, and advance our security, prosperity, and values.”Kamala Harris, who will be the vice president, described Blinken as “crisis-tested” and among the “best of America.”Blinken, who was the deputy secretary of state in the administration of former President Barack Obama, said during the presidential campaign that from “Biden’s perspective, strengthening and deepening the relationship with India is going to be a very high priority.”Blinken...

Read More........ → November 24, 2020

Modi’s phone call to Biden to affirm bilateral ties

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi phone called newly elected US President Joe Biden and congratulated him on Tuesday night. During this, he reiterated New Delhi’s commitment to affirm good bilateral relations with Washington.At the same time, he told Biden to greet Kamala Harris, the elected Vice President of the United States of Indian descent. According to Indian media, the phone call was important in the coming days for India-US bilateral relations. “I greet US President-elect Joe Biden over the phone,” Modi tweeted, saying: “We pledge to continue our commitment to the strategic relationship between India and the United States. Issues like climate change, cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, tackling COVID were also discussed.”Modi’s last meeting with Biden was in 2014. Biden was then vice president of the United States under Barack Obama.It is to be noted that Modi’s “friendship” with President Donald Trump in the past was eye-catching that took the relationship into a different dimension with “Howdy Modi” in Houston in September 2019 or “Namaste Trump” in Gujarat...

Read More........ → November 20, 2020

High time for Nepal to look beyond India and China

The US aid under MCC is a golden opportunity for Nepal to look beyond India and China and seek greater engagement with other powers and to derive economic benefit and relinquish meaningless geopolitical adventures, writes Vikash Kumar for South Asia Monitor Among diverse political turbulences being seen in Nepal, one which is being less talked about is Nepal’s indecisiveness over the US aid amounting to $500 million under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). While the government is inclined to accept it, Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada incorporated this in the new budget before its parliamentary endorsement – and now the grant is facing opposition, inter alia, from within the ruling Nepali Communist Party (NCP). The opponents are forwarding the arguments that accepting the aid may damage its blossoming ties with China. Prima facie, there may be some element of truth in this argument, but it is shorn of any understanding of Nepal’s national interest. Nepal is sandwiched between two Asian giants which share great ambitions for its future and whose geopolitical interests...

Read More........ → July 29, 2020