Biden administration will be open to advancing ties with India: Senator Mark Warner at HTLS 2020

The US and India can build upon some of the progress made by the Trump administration, American senator Mark Warner said on Friday as he pointed out Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to have a good personal relationship. Warner was speaking on the last day of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2020 to Mukesh Aghi, the president and chief executive of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).

Biden administration, he said, will be open to advancing ties with India, especially in the technology sector and in the fight against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). “I believe that we can build upon some of the progress made by the Trump administration (with India),” Warner said on how US president-elect Joe Biden’s team would take it forward.

Warner said Biden’s team would be very diverse. “We think about Indian American relationships, we have the first Indian American vice president,” he said. “The world realises that people coming into the Biden administration have been multinational,” Warner added.

Warner, a Democrat who co-chairs the Senate India Caucus, has in the past expressed concern over restrictions in Kashmir and called for their withdrawal. “I think the Indian government, at times, has not been as forward leading on making the case, not just in the US but on a global basis about Kashmir,” Warner, a Democrat senator from Virginia, said on Friday.

Warner, who is a staunch supporter of close US-India ties and moved many critical legislations promoting relations and petitioned the administration for crucial relief and help when needed, made a comment on Kashmir in October as well.

“While I understand India has legitimate security concerns, I am disturbed by its restrictions on communications and movement within Jammu and Kashmir,” Warner had tweeted in October. “I hope India will live up to its democratic principles by allowing freedom of press, information, and political participation,” he added.

The US and India can build upon some of the progress made by the Trump administration, Warner said as he pointed out Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to have a good personal relationship.

Warner talked about Trump’s refusal to concede defeat in the US elections, saying he was optimistic but was not sure what Donald Trump will do. “There is virtually no one in White House or my Republican Senate colleague who believe he (Donald Trump) is going to overturn the result of elections,” Warner said.