Joe Biden: A long-time friend of India

New Delhi : US President-elect Joseph Biden has always been a strong supporter of India and India-US partnership since his days in Senate and later as a vice-president.
As two mature and vibrant democracies, India and the United States are natural partners with shared values. Driven by a convergence of interests, the India-US bilateral relationship rests on a strong foundation, encompassing cooperation in every possible sphere, including strategic, political, defence, security, economic and commercial, energy, education, healthcare, space, and so on.
While the India-US partnership has thrived under both the Republicans and Democrats, Biden has been a strong supporter of India and the India-US partnership as a senator (1973-2008) and later as a vice-president (2009-2016).
As a senator, and as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he consistently lent his support to several resolutions in support of India.
In August 2001, as a senator Biden — who was also the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — wrote a letter to President George W Bush calling on the new administration to unilaterally drop the US sanctions against India.
As the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden worked towards the US Senate’s approval of the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement in 2008 and co-sponsored several legislations on countering terrorism.