Monitoring some recent concerning developments in India, including rights abuse: Antony Blinken

This is unusual for a US Secretary of State to make such assertions, in the presence of a visiting Indian Foreign Minister, especially in recent years. But this is in sync with a Democratic administration’s focus on human rights.

After the 2+2 Foreign and Defence ministers meeting of India and the US, Blinken also announced formation of a “working Group on Education and Skill Training” that is aimed to increase the number of Indian students by bringing institutions in the US and India together to develop new joint research and exchange programmes.

On the issue of human rights, Blinken said, “We also share a commitment to our democratic values, such as protecting human rights. We regularly engage with our Indian partners on these shared values, and to that end we’re monitoring some recent concerning developments in India, including a rise in human rights abuses by some government, police, and prison officials.”

On the 75th year of diplomatic ties, he invoked first Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

“Very soon after our countries established diplomatic relations some 75 years ago, Prime Minister Nehru came to visit the United States. President Truman met him on the tarmac of the airport. And Prime Minister Nehru noted the importance of the moment, saying, and I quote: ‘I trust that these two republics of the Western World and the Eastern World will find many ways of working together in friendly and fruitful cooperation to our mutual advantage, and for the good of humanity’,” Blinken said.

“So for nearly 75 years, we’ve done just that. And I’m grateful to our partners for making it possible for that ‘friendly and fruitful cooperation’ to continue and to deepen,” he said.

On education, Blinken said, “We have a Working Group on Education and Skill Training that we formed today that will increase that number by bringing institutions in the United States and India together to develop new joint research and exchange programmes. We look forward to welcoming more Indian students and scholars into our communities. We’re focusing, among other things, on STEM education. I think this is an area of tremendous potential going forward.”

The joint statement after the 2+2 meeting said that “the ministers announced the intent to establish a new India-US Education and Skills Development Working Group.”

On terrorism, the joint statement said the ministers strongly condemned any use of terrorist proxies and cross-border terrorism in all its forms and called for the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attack and Pathankot attack to be brought to justice.

“They called for concerted action against all terrorist groups, including groups proscribed by the UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee, such as al-Qa’ida, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Hizb ul Mujahideen, it said. “The ministers called on Pakistan to take immediate, sustained, and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for terrorist attacks.”

“The ministers committed to continued exchange of information about sanctions and designations against terror groups and individuals, countering violent radicalism, use of the Internet for terrorist purposes, and cross-border movement of terrorists. The ministers also emphasised the importance of upholding international standards on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism by all countries, consistent with FATF recommendations.”