 "'A reconnection of two old friends': Gabbard on PM Modi meeting President Trump")
The United States Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard hailed the friendship between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump.
Answering a question by Observer Research foundation (ORF) President Samir Saran on the direction of India-US relations, Gabbard said, “I think what we saw with PM Modi’s early visit to Washington was a reconnection of of two old friends”.
In February this year, PM Modi had met President Trump during an official visit to Washington. Conversations had spanned trade, defence cooperation, and immigration, among other pertinent bilateral issues.
Tulsi Gabbard mentioned that even in the four years that President Trump was not in office, he and PM Modi “continued to build upon that friendship.”
Gabbard went on to say, “Obviously, that’s a personal friendship but it’s one that is indicative of their approach to leadership and their priorities of listening to the needs of their respective people and setting policy, and taking action towards serving their best interests.”
She said that the US administration under President Trump has been engaging with their international partners from “day one”, including with allies in partnerships like the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad). “With regards to quad and the other relationships…both he [Trump] and his team, our cabinet, has already been engaging really from day one with our partners,” she said.
Gabbard clarified that the new administration’s “America First” approach should in no way be understood as “America alone”. She highlighted that Washington values its international partners and places importance on events like Raisina Dialogue, which present an opportunity to sit down and talk to people face-to-face to work on common bilateral concerns.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“I can speak for myself, within 12 hours of being sworn in as the director of National Intelligence. I was on a plane and headed to Munich for the security conference there, where I had the opportunity to meet with Close to 30 of my counterparts from different parts of the world. And what I’ve enjoyed and appreciated about being able to be here is to join all of you,” she said.
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