Joe Biden’s statement on ties with India: Here’s what Democratic Party candidate for US President said

He also said that the US was currently fighting a battle for its “soul”. (File image: Reuters)

US Elections 2020: As US elections are drawing closer, Republican candidate and incumbent US President Donald Trump is locking horns with Democratic candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden. Amidst their charged campaigns, Biden has said that if he wins the November elections, a high priority for his administration would be to strengthen the US’ relations with its “natural partner” India, according to a report by news agency PTI. Upon being questioned about the India-US relations during a virtual event on Wednesday, Biden said that the US needed India as a partner in the region for the safety of both the countries, the report added.

Biden was speaking at a virtual fund-raising event hosted by Alan Leventhal, the CEO and Chairman of Beacon Capital Partners, PTI report stated. He said that the India-US partnership is a strategic one and is necessary and important. In a reference to his eight-year period as the US’ Vice President, Biden said that he was proud to have played a role in getting Congressional approval for the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement, which he said was a “big deal”.

He was also quoted by the report as saying that even in the Obama-Biden administration, progress in the US-India relations and bolstering of US-India strategic ties were a priority, and they would continue to remain so if Biden is elected. The report further stated that as Vice President and as a senator from Delaware, Biden was very much in favour of the US’ relations with India.

Talking about the upcoming polls, he said that the character of the US would be on the ballot and that these would be the most important elections of a lifetime. He further said that the US was currently fighting a battle for its “soul”. He also slammed US President Trump over the way he handled the coronavirus pandemic, as the US has been the worst affected country due to the pandemic, accounting for more than 25% of the total number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world.