Team Blitz India
India-US security cooperation will become even more important in the years ahead, wrote Richard R. Verma, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, reiterating President Joe Biden’s sentiment that the bilateral relationship stands as the defining partnership of the 21st century.
“As both President Biden and Prime Minister Modi have said, our impact with each other is important, but what we can do for the world is even more important. Whether it’s addressing food insecurity or battling the next pandemic or connecting millions to the digital economy, there is so much we can do together,” Verma, highestranking Indian-American in the State Department, said.
Verma previously served as the Ambassador to India, where he led one of the largest US diplomatic missions and championed historic progress in bilateral ties.
Verma outlined the significant achievements across spectrums in recent decades. He identified defence, democracy, and technology as pivotal areas of cooperation, where each is essential for the advancement of mutual interests and global stability. “Our security cooperation will become even more important in the years ahead. The threats we face are real, but building our collective capabilities, increasing our sharing of information, and improving maritime domain awareness and interoperability will ensure India continues to be a provider of net security across the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” emphasised Verma.
“Our work on protecting, preserving, and strengthening democracy will continue to be even more important, with the rise of autocratic and authoritarian leaders and movements. This includes continuing to strengthen a global rulesbased order architecture, ensuring we bridge the divide on income inequality, and battling mis and disinformation. Democracy must continue to deliver for our peoples,” he stressed.
Asserting that “our work on new and emerging technologies will take on even more promise”, he wrote, “New and emerging technologies offer tremendous opportunities for economic growth and development. At the same time, recent disruptive cyber attacks, carried out by criminals and nation states, demonstrate the risk that cyber vulnerabilities can pose to global peace and security. We must work together to tackle data privacy issues, such as identity theft, by exchanging knowledge on data protection issues.”
Verma reminded how one of America’s first consulates was in Kolkata, and how some of the great American and Indian philosophers, writers, and social justice advocates of the 19th and 20th centuries were connected and mutually inspired by one another.
