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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday that their two countries were united in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic together.
Jaishankar, who has spent the past week in the US seeking help to deal with India’s coronavirus crisis, told reporters while standing with Blinken at the State Department India was grateful to the US administration for strong support and solidarity.
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“The partnership between the US and India is vital, is strong, and I think it’s increasingly productive,” Blinken said.
“We’re united in confronting COVID-19 together,” he added.
“We’re united in dealing with the challenge posed by climate change, and we are partnered together directly through the Quad, other institutions in the United Nations, in dealing with many of the challenges we face in the region and around the world.”
Jaishankar said India appreciated the US for its “strong support and solidarity at a moment of great difficulty for us.”
Ties between the US and India have grown closer in recent years amid shared concerns about China’s rise and they have increased cooperation through a four-country grouping known as the Quad, which also involves Australia and Japan.
US President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific policy coordinator Kurt Campbell said on Wednesday that the US is looking to convene an in-person summit of leaders of the Quad in the fall, with a focus on infrastructure.
The Quad held a first virtual summit in March and pledged to work closely on COVID-19 vaccines, climate and security.
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