Leading U.S. Senators endorse U.S.-India cooperation after Trump visit

- ADVERTISEMENT -

United States Senators Mark R. Warner, D-VA, and John Cornyn, R-TX, co-chairs of the Senate India Caucus, extended their support to agreements made with India and issued the following statement following President Trump’s visit to India:

“As co-chairs of the India Caucus, we welcome the commitments made by the United States and India during President Trump’s recent visit to India to expand the partnership between our two countries and our two peoples. Both countries agreed to continue working together to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region, secure 5G and an open internet, increase our defense trade, strengthen our energy partnership, expand counterterrorism, maritime, cyber, and space cooperation, as well as to expand educational exchanges – all of which will benefit both of our countries.”

The Senators however, had some reservations about the evolving situation in India where more than 20 people have been killed and some 200 injured in communal riots in the capital New Delhi, according to Reuters.

“At the same time, we are alarmed by the recent violence in New Delhi. We continue to support an open dialogue on issues of significant concern in order to advance our vital long-term relationship,” the Senators representing both parties.

President Trump’s two-day trip to Ahmedabad, Agra and Delhi, Feb. 24-25, 2020, concluded with a Joint Statement in which the two leaders “vowed to strengthen a United States-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, anchored in mutual trust, shared interests, goodwill, and robust engagement of their citizens.”

The two countries signed on the dotted line to purchase MH-6oR naval and AH 64E Apache helicopters worth some $3 billion. Trump reaffirmed India’s status as a Major Defense Partner, enabling it to purchase sensitive defense technology.

They reaffirmed close cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and the South China Sea, deciding to strengthen consultation through United States-India-Japan trilateral summits; the 2+2 Ministerial meeting mechanism of the Foreign and Defense Ministers of India and the United States; and the United States-India-Australia-Japan Quadrilateral consultations, among others.

The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to reforming the United Nations and other international organizations; India’s permanent membership in a future UN Security Council, and other international endeavors involving poverty alleviation and women’s development.

President Trump and Prime Minister Modi denounced any use of terrorist proxies and “strongly” condemned cross-border terrorism in all its forms. “They call on Pakistan to ensure that no territory under its control is used to launch terrorist attacks, and to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks, including 26/11Mumbai and Pathankot. They called for concerted action against all terrorist groups, including Al-Qa’ida, ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, TTP, D-Company, and all their affiliates.