Biden tells Modi will work to strengthen India ties alongside Harris

By Arul Louis New York, Nov 18 : Joe Biden, who will take over as United States President in January, has told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that alongside Kamala Harris he wants to strengthen and expand relations between their countries.
Working closely on the Covid-19 pandemic figured in their phone call on Tuesday, Biden’s transition organisation’s readout of the conversation said.
“The President-elect thanked the Prime Minister for his congratulations and expressed his desire to strengthen and expand the US-India strategic partnership alongside the first Vice President of South Asian descent” Kamala Harris, according to the readout.
“The President-elect noted that he looks forward to working closely with the Prime Minister on shared global challenges, including containing Covid-19 and defending against future health crises, tackling the threat of climate change, launching the global economic recovery, strengthening democracy at home and abroad, and maintaining a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” it added.
Absent from the readout is any mention of cooperation in counter-terrorism.
The readout mentions maintaining a secure Indo-Pacific, which was the centrepiece of President Donald Trump’s administration’s strategic involvement with India.