‘India-US relationship not narrowed to bilateral gains’: EAM S Jaishankar after four-day US visit

S Jaishankar, fully satisfied by the official visit to the US, said that India-US ties have the great capability and potential and there is much scope for growth

image source: Reuters

Washington: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, after meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said that India and the United States do not share a narrow relationship committed solely to bilateral interests, but one that affects the rest of the globe. He stated that both countries have recognised that this is a relationship with great capability and potential and that there is still much opportunity for growth.

"Looking at the India-US relationship, it's not a narrow relationship devoted just to each other's gains." "Our relationship today has a tremendous impact on the rest of the world, especially the Indo-Pacific," Jaishankar told a gathering of Indian media on Wednesday, as he wrapped off a four-day official visit to Washington.

"There are a lot of countries that look to us individually or bilaterally for some part of the betterment that they aspire for, the solutions that the globe is looking for in many ways," he said.

"Bilateral, a really strong, positive, and fruitful bilateral chat, but set in the perspective of greater global concerns." "There is a high degree of consistency in how we look at those difficulties, albeit we may frame it differently," he says.

“It's natural our positions will not be identical, our priorities may sometimes be a little bit different. But again, the good part of the relationship is today, that we understand that we have to make space for each other and that we can work with each other, even if we do not entirely agree on every aspect of every issue,” Jaishankar said.

'India-US ties are in a good place': EAM

“If you look, our trades been doing well, our political exchanges have been very solid. There might be some process issues on visas, but in terms of actual movement of people, it's on a longer timeframe again, being quite positive,” he said, adding that the student numbers are also strong.

“Both the countries have recognised this is a relationship of great capability and potential. There's still a lot of room for it to grow. There are new avenues that we could look at. And part of the reason for the meeting with the ambassador organised with the National Science Foundation was really, how do we look at science and technology and research and collaboration and critical and emerging technologies, and really create some big broad avenues for further collaboration,” he said.

Visa backlog concern

In the meeting with Antony Blinken on Tuesday, EAM Jaishankar raised the issue of building backlog of US visas post-COVID. To which, Antony Blinken said that the state will look into the matter at the earliest in the coming months and assured the EAM of quick resolution of the issue.

“To Secretary Blinken, I suggested that if there was something we could do from the Indian government, to help the US come and deal with this issue in a better way, we would be very open to doing it. I think there might be some issues which he might send our way,” Jaishankar said.

“I feel this is an issue where, obviously it's mainly for the US to do, but we will be supportive and collaborative because it is an issue. We have today, and I heard this on a very regular basis in India,” he said.

There are families who are not able to meet, there are people who can't keep their business appointments. There are students who are waiting for a long time. So, it's a genuinely serious problem of some magnitude, Jaishankar said. However, Blinken's confidence in the situation reassured EAM of a swift resolution.

During the joint news conference with him a day earlier, Blinken explained the compulsions and the constraints of the US.

“I think he was very sincere about trying to rectify the situation,” Jaishankar said. Jaishankar said he saw a great deal of enthusiasm on the American side.

Beginning with a meeting with the diaspora on Sunday, Jaishankar met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and five lawmakers, including Senator Mark Warner and Congressman Ami Bera, over the next four days.

Jaishankar also met with members of the American business community. He described his visit as quite comfortable, with lots of good interactions.