US ambassador Eric Garcetti
There’s a revolutionary transition underway in the United States to ease India’s access to critical technologies, US ambassador Eric Garcetti said Wednesday as he described Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to America as a celebration of the defining partnership of this century and the unprecedented GE-HAL jet engine deal as one based on trust.
The envoy claimed that the visit demonstrated how relations were advancing at an astounding rate and that the initiatives India and the US were working on together would alter the course of history.
Garcetti also said that India and the US can build a bulwark against the “might makes right” mentality at a time countries were ignoring sovereign borders and advancing their claims through violence and destruction. “This is not the world we want. This is not the world we need,’’ said the ambassador, without naming Russia or China.
He emphasised security cooperation and border protection, saying that India and the US could deploy ships together in the Pacific and Indian oceans for maritime security and use their air forces throughout the Indo-Pacific to ensure freedom of the skies and the seas and support the defence of other nations who shared similar values.
Prime Minister Modi’s visit, with its focus on removing defence and hi-tech trade barriers, was seen as a resounding success but in the days that succeeded, a controversy broke out over former president Barack Obama’s remarks on the issue of human rights in India. At IIT-Delhi, Garcetti said the US will continue to engage with India on human rights issues “as we have always done, and as we do in all countries around the world” but added this was an area he approached with great humility.
“The United States continues to learn through hard experience how important it is to be honest about our challenges and confront them head on. As Mahatma Gandhi phrased it so well, our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and test of our civilisation,” he said, while recalling Vice President Kamala Harris’ remark last week that it’s important to not just have democracy but to also work to defend it. “In America, we’re still not perfect, and the American experiment continues alongside the American dream,” he said. The White House also strongly condemned earlier this week online targeting of a WSJ reporter for asking PM Modi during his visit last week a question related to minority rights in India.
Garcetti reaffirmed past statements made by the White House that the creation and usage of technology by India and the US will be based on shared democratic values and respect for universal human rights while discussing technology collaboration and co-production of military weapons.
“Unfortunately, not everyone shares that vision. There are those who would prefer to use technology as an authoritarian weapon, to intimidate their neighbours and control their own citizens. That’s why we’re diversifying and deepening our supply chains with trusted partners and reducing dependencies that put our peoples at risk,’’ said the ambassador.
“When the US and India work together to co-produce military equipment, we create a state-of-the-art system at a sustainable cost and with resilient supply chains for India, the United States, and our partners. The announcements made during Prime Minister Modi’s official state visit set a marker and highlighted incredible potential,’’ he added.
(This story has not been edited by Bharat Express staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
