Tag: US-India relations

Categories
-Top News India News USA

Garcetti sworn in as US ambassador to India

Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was officially sworn in as the US Ambassador to India by Vice President Kamala Harris at a ceremonial event.

The swearing-in ceremony on Friday was attended by Garcetti’s close family members, including his wife and daughter, who held the Hebrew Bible.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was officially sworn in as the US Ambassador to India by Vice President Kamala Harris at a ceremonial event.

Garcetti was confirmed as the next US Ambassador earlier this month, ending a logjam that had left an important American mission abroad without a regular envoy for almost two years and his fate in the balance.

The swearing-in ceremony on Friday was attended by Garcetti’s close family members, including his wife and daughter, who held the Hebrew Bible.

When asked about his new diplomatic assignment, the former Mayor said: “I cannot wait to serve.”

The US Senate confirmed him in a 52-42 vote with cross-voting from both parties, with several Democrats voting against Garcetti, a nominee of the Democratic President Joe Biden, and several Republicans siding voting for him.

Garcetti was once a rising star in the Democratic party, but had had come under severe criticism lately for ignoring complaints of sexual harassment against one of senior aides.

His nomination had been stalled over these allegations, which came up during his confirmation hearing.

President Biden had first nominated him in July 2021, but it did not proceed and it was technically deemed as returned to the White House, to either be re-sent or replaced.

The last US envoy in New Delhi was Kenneth Juster, who stepped down after the change of government in the US in January 2021.

ALSO READ: US Congressman slams Rahul disqualification

Categories
-Top News India News USA

India maybe in a position to bring dialogue to end war: US

US State Department spokesperson said India and US share a commitment to upholding a rules-based international order that respects territorial integrity and sovereignty, reports Arul Louis

India may be among countries that can have a role in diplomacy to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine even though New Delhi and Washington may not see eye-to-eye on policy issues, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

“We do believe that countries like India, countries that have a relationship with Russia and with Ukraine may be in a position to help bring about dialogue and diplomacy that could one day put an end to this war,” Price said on Friday while briefing foreign correspondents.

“We have been in regular, close contact with India regarding what we can do to hold Russia accountable and to impose additional costs on Russia for its war.”

Downplaying the differences between the two countries, he said: “We may not always share precisely the same policy approaches, but we both share a commitment to upholding a rules-based international order that respects territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

India has abstained on votes at the UN condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine bringing to the fore the differences with US, even as the two countries have been developing closer ties.

Price cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly telling Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in September 2022, “I know that today’s era is not an era of war” and noted that it was echoed in the joint statement of the summit of the leaders of the G20 group of major industrialised and emerging economies that India heads.

“We’ve heard that comment at the UN as well. We do welcome India’s support for the people of Ukraine. India has provided humanitarian assistance and calls by India for an immediate end to Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine,” the spokesman noted.

The commitment to rule of law and to territorial integrity of nations “is at the heart of our global strategic partnership with India”, Price said.

“It is at the heart of what we seek to do with the Quad, with the other bilateral and multilateral work we do with our Indian partners.”

India, with the US is a member of the Quad with Australia and Japan, and Washington and the US are developing another four-nation group, I2U2, with Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

While speaking of the possible diplomatic role for India in helping end the Ukraine war, Price did not see it as a near-term possibility.

It may be possible “I say ‘one day’ and I put this in the conditional because there is one country that, of course, has demonstrated no willingness to put an end to this war, to end the brutal aggression, and that, of course, is Russia”, he said.

“Even in the context of recent discussions, we took note of the Kremlin’s statement that the Kremlin is willing to engage in dialogue but only if the new territorial realities are recognised.

“That is a clear a sign as any that Moscow has no genuine appetite to engage in dialogue and diplomacy that will lead to a just and durable peace,” Price added.

ALSO READ: India tried to defuse Zaporizhzhia situation: Jaishankar

Categories
-Top News India News USA

Will support my friend PM Modi: Biden on India’s G20 presidency

Biden’s offer of support comes at a time when India’s growing proximity to the United States is attracting unsolicited concern from Beijing and Moscow, for their separate reasons, a report by Yashwant Raj

US President Joe Biden said on Friday that he is looking forward to “supporting my dear friend” Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Indias G-20 Presidency.

India assumed the rotational G-20 chair for a year on Thursday, the same day that it also took the month-long Presidency of the UN Security Council, which will also be the last month of its eighth non-permanent membership of what is really the world’s most elite club on global security issues.

“India is a strong partner of the United States, and I look forward to supporting my friend Prime Minister Modi during India’s G20 Presidency,” President Biden wrote in a tweet.

“Together we will advance sustainable and inclusive growth while tackling shared challenges like the climate, energy, and food crises,”he added.

Biden’s offer of support comes at a time when India’s growing proximity to the United States is attracting unsolicited concern from Beijing and Moscow, for their separate reasons.

A US Department of Defense report issued earlier this week said the Chinese government officials had specifically asked US officials “to not interfere” in China’s relationship with India.

And in Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that the US-led NATO was trying to “draw India into anti-Chinese and anti-Russian alliances”.

It’s not a secret that the Biden administration pressured India to condemn and oppose the Russian invasion of Ukraine more forcefully than it had done earlier. It has seemed content lately with Prime Minister Modi’s public rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in September, telling him at a joint appearance covered widely by news media outlets that this is “not an era of war” and that the conflict with Ukraine should be settled through dialogue.

But New Delhi has refused this far to abandon its longstanding relationship with Moscow and has continued to buy Russian crude, ignoring Western sanctions and admonitions.

ALSO READ: ‘Supporting India’s G20 presidency is a key priority’: UAE