Last Update: June 24, 2023, 00:55 IST
Washington DC, United States of America (USA)
Kirby stressed that PM Modi’s visit was about sending a message to the American and Indian people about how important this bilateral relationship is to people around the world. (Reuters file photo)
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the Washington-New Delhi relationship has its merits.
A top White House official on Friday reaffirmed that the United States does not view India as a counterweight to China, asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit was not centered around Beijing.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the Washington-New Delhi relationship stands on its own merit and is about the Indian and American people.
Acknowledging India’s challenges with China, Kirby stressed that India tackles them independently.
“This state visit (of PM Modi) was not about China. India faces challenges from China as well as on its doorstep and more broadly in its region. Clearly, the challenges posed by the PRC to both our countries were on the agenda for tomorrow. But it was not about pressuring India to retaliate. John Kirby said during a press conference, “India is a sovereign, independent state.”
video | “This state visit was not about China as India is a sovereign independent state and they have their own foreign policy which they have to manage. They live in a tough neighborhood,” says John Kirby, White House official on PM Modi’s state visit to the US.#PMModiUSVisit pic.twitter.com/Lwfiv4vy9A– Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) 23 June 2023
Responding to a question on India’s role with respect to Washington’s China policy, Kirby said, “We are not looking at India as a counterweight to China. We were not taking this state visit as an opportunity to send any message to China.”
Kirby stressed that PM Modi’s visit was about sending a message to the American and Indian people about how important this bilateral relationship is to people around the world.
“India has challenges of its own and they address those challenges largely on their own. Now, he is a member of the Indo-Pacific Quad and has been a major contributor to the multilateral architecture.”
Regarding India-Russia ties, the White House official said, “India will have to make its own choices about (Russian) oil purchases and we hope that we can continue to see whether they are at or below the price range.” Buy Russian oil, as they have done.” Went.”
On Friday, PM Modi met US and Indian technology CEOs in Washington, the last day of his state visit marked by a pledge of deeper US-India cooperation in areas including space, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
President Joe Biden and Modi gathered with CEOs including Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella.
The White House said Indian tech leaders including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani were also in attendance.
“Our partnership between India and the United States will, in my view, go a long way in defining the 21st century,” Biden told the group. Technical cooperation will be a big part of that partnership, he said.
