“I can’t predict what Donald Trump is going to do,” US senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia, Mark Warner told president and CEO, US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), Dr Mukesh Aghi, in the opening session of the final day of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Friday. Warner said, while he thinks Trump was directionally right with China, he hopes the Biden administration will remain tough on Beijing. Warner also said that Trump seems “disconnected with his official duties”.
The US senator talked about the recently concluded US presidential polls, India-America ties and the changing dynamics of global politics amid the raging pandemic.
He said that Joe Biden’s team would be very diverse. “The world realizes that people coming into the Biden administration have been multinational,” Warner said,
“We think about Indian-American relationships, we have the first Indian American vice president,” he added.
With respect to India, Warner said that he thinks the “Indian government, at times, has not been as forward leading on making the case, not just in the US but on a global basis about Kashmir”.
The senator said that he is aware that Trump and PM Modi “seemed to have a good personal relationship”, and hoped that the new administration “can build upon some of the progress made by the Trump administration (with India)”.
“Biden administration will be open to advancing ties with India,” Warner addedWarner was speaking on the final day of the HT Leadership Summit which will also see international popstar Nick Jonas, actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and professor of global health, Harvard medical school, Vikram Patel in participation. The finale will be marked by a closing concert by singer and songwriter Prateek Kuhad.