In his maiden visit to India on July 27, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is likely to discuss deepening of Quad ties, with a possibility of a Foreign Ministerial Quad meeting later this year, according to government sources. Blinken will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on July 28.
Afghanistan situation will be one of the key topics of discussions. The fallout of US troop withdrawal from the region and the need for sustained pressure on Pakistan on terror financing will also be part of the Blinken’s agenda during the visit.
Besides, Quad vaccine initiative and Covid-19 recovery and containment efforts will be among the wide-ranging issues to be discussed during the meeting.
The US, India, Australia and Japan Quadrilateral (Quad) had decided to build a vaccine supply initiative to overcome current and future pandemic situation in the Indo-Pacific region. According to the initiative, the vaccines will be developed in the US, produced in India, financed by the US and Japan and supported by Australia’s logistics from early 2022 to countries in Indo-Pacific region. The move is seen to counter China’s influence in the region.
During the discussions with the US secretary of state over Covid-19, India is mostly likely to press for gradual resumption of international travel, while maintaining health protocols, especially easing mobility of students, professionals, business travellers, family reunions, humanitarian cases.
On vaccines, India will continue to push for ensuring open and consistent supply chains for materials and items required for vaccine production, as India ramps up both for domestic vaccination and as for global supplies thereafter. The need for resilient supply chains of critical medicines and healthcare equipment is likely to come up.
Besides Afghanistan and expanding Indo-US cooperation on security, defence and counter terrorism, Blinken will also raise the issues of human rights and democracy with Indian officials during his visit to New Delhi, according to Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs in the US, Dean Thompson, at a briefing on Saturday morning.
Both US and India are expected to explore ways and means to strengthen their defence collaboration through policy exchanges, exercises, and technology transfers. These will be discussed in greater detail during the fourth 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue due in the US later this year.
Secretary Blinken’s visit reciprocates external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s trip to the US in May 2021. The two leaders also had detailed conversations this year in the UK at the G7 meeting and Italy on the sidelines of a G20 meeting.
Blinken will travel on July 28 to Kuwait City where he will meet with senior Kuwaiti officials to continue discussions of key bilateral issues that underscore the importance of our 60 years of diplomatic ties.
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