The Indian and the US governments have a “common concern” about what is going on in Bangladesh, especially for the security of minorities as per the government after telephonic communication between United States President Joseph Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (August 26, 2024).
The two leaders also discussed Ukraine, with Mr. Modi’s “informed” Mr. Biden about his recent trip to Kyiv. They also spoke of U.S.-India-Japan-Australia Quadrilateral a few hours later when Mr. Modi talked to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese via phone regarding Quad giving an impression that he is willing to go ahead with fixing the date for Quad summit that India is supposed to host this year and says it has been trying to schedule for next month during the U.N. Summit of the Future slated for September 22-23.
“The two leaders expressed their shared concern over the situation in Bangladesh… .They emphasized restoring law and order in order to ensure safety and security of minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh,” according to Ministry of External Affairs’ press release about the call received by Mr. Modi from Mr. Biden where they talked about advancements done in Indo-US bilateral relationship and strategic partnership.
Ever since the Bangladesh protests forced Sheikh Hasina to step down and move indefinitely into Delhi, this is her first such talk with another leader. In earlier remarks, Ms. Hasina accused America of inciting demonstrations aimed at her.
A large number of members of the minority Hindu community were targeted by mobs that attacked supporters of the ruling Awami League party after she left in violence and India has repeatedly raised its concerns about attacks on Hindus with the newly installed interim regime headed by Muhammad Yunus.
While discussing Ukraine situation, Prime Minister [Modi] informed President Biden about his recent visit to Ukraine. He underscored India’s long held position for dialogue and diplomacy and expressed full support for early return of peace and stability,” the Ministry of External Affairs added.
On 23rd September, Mr. Modi had been in Kiev where they talked about India’s stand “for peace,” while he was talking to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; this came after a visit to Moscow and the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Indian newspapers later interviewed Mr. Zelenskyy who said that though he appreciated Mr. Modi’s ‘historic’ visit, he felt that India should have changed its mind on Russia before the war can end, which means ending oil imports from Russia by New Delhi and changing voting patterns at the United Nations to endorse Ukraine instead of abstaining.
On Monday (August 26, 2024), after speaking to Mr. Albanese, Mr. Modi said in a social media post that they had ‘taken stock of progress made in bilateral relations and cooperation in multilateral fora including the Quad’. The election timetable is a major issue for India as it gets ready to host the Quad summit in 2024: this, alongside its own elections and those of the US republic, as well as LDP leadership elections coming up in Japan have however complicated this duty. As a compromise, sources say India has suggested holding the Summit on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly and Summit of the Future in September. According to the sources, Mr. Biden and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida who are both not seeking re-election will attend the U.N. summi
Shared Concerns About Bangladesh
Conversation, a significant concern for Bangladesh, was another item in the agenda. Both of them aired their concerns about developments that have taken place in the country focusing on political stability, human rights and regional security topics. There is great interest in what is taking place in Bangladesh now with various stakeholders closely watching.
They agreed that there should be collective efforts to save Bangladesh. They also talked about how best they could support democracy, human rights and economic growth in this region. The need to keep Bangladesh stable so as to safeguard the South Asian region as a whole was stressed by these heads of state.
Strengthening U.S.-India Relations
Modi and Biden had a conversation which indicated the improvement of bilateral relations between America and India. The two leaders also reiterated their dedication to intensifying collaboration on some international challenges such as peacemaking and local stability. Talking about global issues, the participants emphasized a rising in strategic alignment and congruent foreign policy objectives in relation towards dealing with global challenges.
Biden ‘commends’ Modi for ‘historic visits’ to Poland and Ukraine
Instead of the MEA statement, in discussing the call between President Biden and Prime Minister Modi, The White House readout did not mention Bangladesh.
Regarding Ukraine, Mr. Biden said that he had “commended” PM Modi for his “historic trips to Poland and Ukraine including first visits by an Indian Prime Minister to these countries in decades, as well as his message of peace & ongoing humanitarian support for Ukraine including its energy sector.’’
He also mentioned that they discussed a possible meeting during the U.N General Assembly in September this year and continuing cooperation on the Quad grouping.
