New Delhi: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive in New Delhi on Tuesday late evening, 27 July for a two-day official visit. It will be Blinken’s first visit to India after assuming charge as U.S. Secretary of State and second as Biden’s high ranking official since he came to power in January this year. The visit of Blinken to India holds a special significance as it comes at a time when the US is speeding up its troop’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, which has become a matter of security concern for the entire South Asia region.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Former ambassador Jitendra Tripathi said, “Blinken is coming to India at a very significant time and that makes the visit itself very important not only for India but for the whole South Asian region”. He reiterated that Blinken’s visit will see a wide range of discussion on topics including Indo-Pacific, shared vision security interest, shared democratic and Human rights situation in India as well as Indo-US bilateral ties.
Tripathi said that India would like to request Blinken to ease the restriction imposed on Indians for travelling from India to the United States because it is hampering many professionals and students. “India would also like Blinken to stress rather pressurize Pakistan to dissuade from supporting or funding terrorism or terrorist activities against India”, he added.
Afghanistan is likely to be the key discussion as the US is intensifying the drawdown of its troops with the Taliban continuing to push its military offensiveness in Afghanistan. India has been watching with concern as the Taliban have rapidly spread its venom and eyeing to take over, invoking fears of the return of their brutal practices and activities. India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has raised the issue during his visit to Washington DC in May this year.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, on 28 July, Blinken will meet the External Affairs Minister and the National Security Advisor. Secretary Blinken's visit is an opportunity to continue the high-level bilateral dialogue and bolster the India-US global strategic partnership. Both sides will review the robust and multifaceted India-US bilateral relations, and the potential for consolidating them further.
Discussions will focus on regional and global issues of mutual interest – including recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indo-Pacific region, Afghanistan and cooperation in the UN. On July 23, US acting assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs Dean Thompson said that both human rights and democracy would be raised during the secretary of state’s engagements in India.
On Sunday, India on the other hand stated that as a long-standing pluralistic society, India is open to engaging those who now recognize the value of diversity. Blinken is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pertinent to note that PM Modi and US Prez Biden spoke on phone and met virtually at the first summit of the Quad leaders summit, which was hosted by Biden in March this year.
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