Finance
Vinay Kwatra, Indian Ambassador to the United States, met with House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) to discuss the significance of the India-US relationship.
According to a statement released by the Select Committee on Thursday, they discussed regional security, manufacturing, trade, and initiatives to “shift critical manufacturing from China to India.”
Moeelenar described India as a “essential partner for global security” that had witnessed the Chinese Communist Party’s “aggression first-hand.”
“India is the world’s largest democracy and an essential partner for global stability. It has experienced CCP aggression first-hand and is a major US security partner with an increasingly close defense industrial relationship that helps protect the American people,” he added.
Moolenaar also called New Delhi a global leader in “countering malign CCP-directed technology and social media companies”
“It [India] recognizes that it cannot be a free and secure nation if it allows the CCP to manipulate and control information to its people. Today’s meeting with Ambassador Kwatra reaffirmed the US-India strategic partnership and I am hopeful our two countries will continue to build an even stronger friendship grounded in common values,” said Moolenaar.
The Committee statement emphasized India’s ban on TikTok and other Chinese apps following confrontations in the Galwan Valley between Indian and Chinese military in 2020.
According to the readout, they also talked about the “Quad security partnership” and how to “counter the Chinese Communist Party’s expansionist ambitions.”
The meeting came only days after Vinay Kwatra summoned Elbridge Colby, US Undersecretary of War for Policy, to the Pentagon.
“A productive conversation with the brilliant Elbridge Colby. Reviewed the current agenda and charted actionable path on several initiatives in the pipeline of India-US defence cooperation. Value his deep knowledge, perspective and consistent support for our strategic partnership,” Kwatra wrote on X on Thursday.
Colby also posted about the meeting, calling it a “valuable discussion.”
“I was very pleased to host @AmbVMKwatra at the Pentagon earlier this week for a valuable discussion, We at the Department of War look forward to continuing to elevate our critical defense cooperation with India,” he wrote on X.
Source: IANS
