NEW DELHI, Dec 14: The United States President Joe Biden won’t be able to make it to India in late January but he is “personally committed” to deepening ties with India, he shares a “close personal bond” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and he looks forward to engaging with Modi “in the weeks and months ahead,” US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan has said.
Sullivan, Biden’s closest foreign policy aide and an architect of the relationship with India, said due to scheduling demands Mr Biden would not be able to attend the Republic Day parade in Delhi. “Due to scheduling demands, we notified Indian officials that the President would not be unable to visit India in late January.”
Mr Modi had invited Biden for the RD parade during the G20 Summit in Delhi. This week, officials in Delhi told reporters that Biden was not coming, and the Quad meeting would be held later.
(Manas Dasgupta)