“Whatever The Verdict…”: S Jaishankar On Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump

Canberra:

India has seen “steady progress” in its ties with America over the last five presidencies, and its “relationship with the US will only grow” irrespective of the outcome of the US election, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday.

In response to a query during a joint press briefing with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong, Mr Jaishankar also expressed optimism about the future of the Quad, which comprises the US, India, Australia, and Japan.

Wong told reporters that Australia saw the four-nation grouping “retaining its importance regardless of the outcome of the election”.

Millions of Americans headed towards polling stations on Tuesday to elect the 47th President of the US, capping one of the most bitter presidential campaigns in the country’s history.

Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris, 60, and  Republican leader and former US president Donald Trump, 78, remained neck and neck in polls conducted by various media outlets.

The two ministers were asked if there was a concern about Trump winning the election and if the Quad would be affected under his presidency.

“We have actually seen steady progress in our relationship with the US over the last five presidencies, including an earlier Trump presidency. So, when we look at the American election, we are very confident that whatever the verdict, our relationship with the United States will only grow,” Mr Jaishankar told reporters.

“In terms of the Quad, I remind you that it was revived under a Trump presidency in 2017. It was then moved from the level of a permanent secretary to a minister, also during the Trump presidency,” he said.

“And, in fact, it’s interesting, in the midst of Covid, when physical meetings had stopped, one of the rare physical meetings of Foreign Ministers was actually of the Quad, in Tokyo, in 2020. So I think that should tell us something about the prospect of the Quad,” he added.

The US, Japan, India, and Australia had in 2017 given shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the “Quad” or the Quadrilateral coalition to counter China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region.

The four-member Quad, or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, advocates upholding a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. China claims that the grouping aims to contain its rise.

Australian Foreign Minister Wong, in her response to the media query on Quad, said, “We both see, I don’t want to speak for Jai.., but on this, I can express a very similar view. We both see great importance in the Quad, it is an arrangement, a meeting, a grouping with countries that share very similar interests in the sort of region we want,” she said.

“And, having countries from different perspectives, obviously the US, India, Australia, Japan, it’s a very valuable strategic discussion,” she added.

She added that Canberra would see the grouping “retaining its importance regardless of the outcome of the election”.

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