The Indian Panorama

Tag: John Kirby

  • Biden committed to attending QUAD Summit in India: White House

    Biden committed to attending QUAD Summit in India: White House

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): US President Joe Biden is still committed to attending the annual leadership summit of the QUAD countries which is scheduled to be held in India this year, the White House said on Thursday, July 25. “We’re still committed to there being a Quad leader summit this year, but there’s nothing on the calendar right now for it,” White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told reporters at a news conference here. QUAD, comprising Australia, Japan, India and the US, is an initiative of Biden. In the first 100 days of his presidency, he convened a virtual leadership summit of the QUAD countries in 2020. Since then, QUAD leaders have been holding an annual summit on a rotation basis. India is scheduled to host the QUAD leadership summit this year.

    Kirby said now that Biden is not running for reelection, certainly, one can expect there will be opportunities on the calendar that may not have been before.

    “So, we’re all exploring what those opportunities can look like in terms of advancing his foreign policy agenda and national security opportunities here and around the world. But I don’t have anything on the schedule to speak to now, but I mean, stay tuned,’ he said.

    “I think there’ll be some opportunities that the president is going to want to explore. Look, I mean, we’ve still got a war in Ukraine, still got a war in Gaza, still got climate change to deal with. We’ve still got a very restless Indo-Pacific. I mean, I could go on and on. There’s plenty of things for the national security team to try to continue to get done,” Kirby said in response to a question.

  • Biden admin working ‘very hard’ to thwart attacks against Indian students: White House

    Biden admin working ‘very hard’ to thwart attacks against Indian students: White House

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): US President Joe Biden and his administration are working very hard to thwart and disrupt attacks on Indian and Indian American students, the White House has said. The announcement by John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House comes amid a slew of attacks on Indian and Indian American students in various parts of the country.

    “There is no excuse for violence, certainly based on race or gender or religion or any other factor. That’s just unacceptable here in the United States,” Kirby told reporters here when asked about the series of attacks on students from India and also those from the Indian American community.

    “The president and this administration have been working very, very hard to make sure we’re doing everything we can to work with state and local authorities to try to thwart and disrupt those kinds of attacks and make it clear to anybody who might consider them that they’ll be held properly accountable,” Kirby said.

    Vivek Saini, a student working part-time in a department store, died following an attack by a drug addict in Lithonia, Georgia in January. Syed Mazahir Ali, an Indian student at Indiana Wesleyan University was assaulted in February.

    Deaths of at least four Indian American students have been reported in the last several weeks.

    Akul Dhawan of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Neel Acharya of Purdue University died apparently due to heavy drinking followed by long exposure to low temperatures at night in January.

    Shreyas Reddy Benigeri, an Indian-origin student at the Lindner School of Business in Cincinnati was found dead in Ohio this month.

    Indian American community leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria said he was deeply troubled by the tragic deaths of these students in separate incidents and underscored the urgent need for enhanced safety measures for those pursuing education in the US. College authorities, and local police, must address these challenges promptly, he asserted.

    “These incidents understandably worry parents and families in India, and their concerns are shared. It’s crucial to address safety issues to ensure the well-being of Indian students studying in the USA,” he said, adding that the Indian American community unites in calling for improved safety measures and support systems.
    (Source: PTI)

  • US wants G20 to help reshape multilateral development banks like IMF and World Bank

    US wants G20 to help reshape multilateral development banks like IMF and World Bank

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): The US wants the G20 countries to help reshape and scale up multilateral development banks like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, a top White House official has said.

    White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication John Kirby said on Wednesday, September 6,  the US will make it clear during President Joe Biden’s visit to India that it remains committed to the G20 as a critical forum for all the major economies of the world to come together for global problem-solving.

    “One of our main goals heading into the G20 is to help reshape and scale up multilateral development banks like the IMF, like the World Bank,” Kirby told foreign reporters at a news conference here on Wednesday.

    “We know that these institutions are some of the most effective tools for mobilizing transparent and high-quality investment in developing countries. And that’s why the United States has championed the major effort that is currently underway to evolve these institutions so that they’re up for the challenges of tomorrow,” he said.

    Kirby said Biden asked the US Congress last month for additional funds that would have the impact of helping increase World Bank financing by more than USD 25 billion, and the US is working with its partners to see if they can pursue similar contributions.

    During his India visit, Kirby said, Biden will also be calling on G20 members to provide meaningful debt relief so that low and middle-income countries can regain their footing after years of stress on their economies and their people.

    “We’ll also be making progress on other key priorities, from climate to health, and as I said at the very top, digital technology. In addition, we’ll spotlight the progress that we’ve been making on the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment that the President calls PGII,” he said.

    Kirby noted that there will be continued focus on how the G20 deals with Russia’s illegal and ongoing war in Ukraine.

    “The reality is that Russia’s war has already had devastating social, and economic consequences, and the poorest countries on the planet are bearing the brunt of that,” he said.

    During the summit, Biden will call for a just and durable peace – one founded in respect for international law, the principles of the UN Charter, and the precepts of territorial integrity and national sovereignty, he said. “We will also continue to emphasize that the United States will support Ukraine for as long as it takes to redeem these principles,” he said.

    “Last but not least – and this is certainly important – you’ll see that the United States will make it clear that we remain committed to the G20 as a critical forum for all the major economies of the world to come together for global problem-solving.

    “The G20 itself, as a valuable and vital, as I said, venue, will be on the agenda. And in a sign of that commitment, the United States is looking forward to hosting the G20 ourselves in 2026,” said the White House official.

    The G20 member countries represent around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.

     

    The grouping comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU).

    (Source: PTI)

  • President Biden approves $800 million in new military assistance for Ukraine

    President Biden approves $800 million in new military assistance for Ukraine

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP) : In anticipation of a new Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, President Joe Biden has approved an $800 million package of military assistance, including additional helicopters and the first provision of American artillery, according to an Associated Press report. The Ukrainians also will receive armored personnel carriers, armored Humvees, naval drone vessels used in coastal defense, and gear and equipment used to protect soldiers in chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological attacks. “This new package of assistance will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine,” Mr. Biden said in a statement on April 13.

    “The steady supply of weapons the United States and its allies and partners have provided to Ukraine has been critical in sustaining its fight against the Russian invasion,” Mr. Biden added. “It has helped ensure that [Russia President Vladimir] Putin failed in his initial war aims to conquer and control Ukraine. We cannot rest now.” Mr. Biden announced the aid after a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It is the latest in a series of U.S. security assistance packages valued at a combined $2.6 billion that has been committed to Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. The weaponry and support material has played an important role in Ukraine’s successful defense thus far. Mr. Biden is under pressure from members of both parties in Congress to expand and accelerate U.S. aid. Robert Gates, a former CIA Director and Defense Secretary, said on Wednesday he believes the administration needs to push hard for weapon donations by NATO members in Eastern Europe, whose arsenals include Soviet-era tanks and other weaponry and equipment that could help Ukraine immediately. “The United States ought to be acting, 24/7 — how do we mobilize the equipment and how do we get it into Ukraine and into the hands of the Ukrainians,” Mr. Gates said in an online forum sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

    “It’s critically important and critically urgent, and we ought to be sort of ransacking the arsenals of those states, and I think they would be cooperative, particularly” if they are given assurances that the Pentagon will provide American replacements for the donated weapons. The Pentagon said the $800 million package announced by Mr. Biden includes weapons and equipment that will require some training for a Ukrainian military not fully accustomed to American military technology. U.S. and allied forces had been present inside Ukraine to provide training for eight years before pulling out in advance of the Russia’s latest invasion.

    The new arms package includes 18 of the U.S. Army’s 155mm howitzers and 40,000 artillery rounds, two air surveillance radars, 300 Switchblade “kamikaze” armed drones, and 500 Javelin missiles designed to knock out tanks and other armor. Also included are 10 counter-artillery radars used to track incoming artillery and other projectiles to determine their point of origin for counter attacks. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said delivery of the material will be expedited, but he offered no specific timetable.

    “This list came directly out of multiple conversations with Ukrainians in the last few days as we began to see the Russians now start to reprioritize the Donbas fight,” he said, referring to Russia’s shift from a failed offensive in Ukraine’s north aimed at Kyiv, the capital, to a force buildup in the country’s eastern Donbas region, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting since 2014.

    Ukrainian military personnel will need training on the radars as well as the howitzers and the Switchblade drones, Mr. Kirby said. He said the training may be done by U.S. soldiers in Europe and the arrangements are being worked out.

    “These are not highly complex systems,” Mr. Kirby said, and so extensive training will not likely be required. Among the other items in the package are 11 Soviet-era Mi-17 helicopters that the United States had planned to provide to Afghanistan before Mr. Biden last year decided to fully withdraw from the country. They are transport helicopters that also can function in an attack role. The Pentagon previously had sent five Mi-17s to Ukraine, Mr. Kirby said.