US top diplomat Blinken to visit India, Kuwait

Reuters | Washington

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to India next week, the State Department said on Friday, the top US diplomat's first visit to the world's largest democracy and an important US ally in Asia.

Blinken will also visit Kuwait and meet senior officials there at the end of the July 26-29 trip.

In New Delhi on Wednesday, Blinken will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Among the subjects on the agenda will be "Indo-Pacific engagement, shared regional security interests, shared democratic values, and addressing the climate crisis" as well as the response to the coronavirus pandemic, a statement said.

The United States hosted a virtual summit of the Quad countries in March at which they agreed that Indian drugmaker Biological E Ltd would produce at least a billion coronavirus vaccine doses by the end of 2022, mainly for Southeast Asian and Pacific countries.

However, India, the world's largest vaccine producer, was subsequently hit by a catastrophic wave of Covid-19 infections and halted vaccine exports amid intense criticism of Modi's domestic vaccination efforts.

Washington sent raw materials for vaccines, medical equipment and protective gear to India after the spike.

India expects to receive 3-4 million doses of US-made vaccines by August.

"(India) is such a critical country in the fight against COVID-19," Blinken told MSNBC on Friday, explaining that India would eventually become a vital source of vaccines to the world.

"Of course, they’re focused understandably on their own internal challenges now, but when that production engine gets fully going and can distribute again to the rest of the world, that’s going to make a big difference."

Blinken's trip will follow a visit by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to China and coincide with a visit to Southeast Asia by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.