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Trip will emphasize the importance of cooperation in Covid response work, safety and climate crisis.
The U.S. State Department said on Friday that U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Brinken will visit India next week. This is the first time the top U.S. diplomat visits the world’s largest democracy and an important U.S. ally in Asia.
Brinken will also visit Kuwait and meet with senior officials there at the end of his visit from July 26 to 29.
On Wednesday, Brinken will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jashankar in New Delhi.
A statement said that the topics on the agenda will include “Indo-Pacific participation, common regional security interests, common democratic values ​​and response to the climate crisis” and response to the coronavirus pandemic.
On July 26, I will leave for New Delhi, India and Kuwait City, Kuwait. This trip will emphasize the importance of our cooperation on topics such as COVID-19 response, common security interests, and the climate crisis. I look forward to strengthening our important partnership.
-Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (@SecBlinken) July 23, 2021
Brinken is likely to discuss plans for a face-to-face summit of the Group of Four (India, Japan, Australia and the United States).
The United States held a four-nation virtual summit in March, at which they agreed that Indian drug maker Biological E Ltd would produce at least 1 billion doses of coronavirus vaccine by the end of 2022, mainly for use in Southeast Asia and Pacific countries.
However, due to strong criticism of Modi’s domestic vaccination work, India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, was subsequently hit by the catastrophic wave of Covid-19 infection and stopped vaccine exports.
After the outbreak, Washington sent raw materials for vaccines, medical equipment and protective equipment to India.
India is expected to receive 3-4 million doses of US-made vaccines by August.
“(India) is a key country in the fight against COVID-19,” Brinken told MSNBC on Friday, explaining that India will eventually become an important source of vaccines for the world.
“Of course, it is understandable that they are now focusing on their own internal challenges, but when the production engine is fully operational and can be redistributed to other parts of the world, it will make a big difference.”
Brinken’s trip will coincide with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s visit to Southeast Asia after Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman’s visit to China.
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