US PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s policy of “America First” should not be misunderstood as “America alone” as it is similar to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to “India first”, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Tuesday. In an address at the Raisina Dialogue, Gabbard said the Trump administration is looking at boosting ties with New Delhi including in the domain of security to confront various challenges including in the Indo-Pacific.

 

The top American official, however, did not mention India’s concerns over activities of pro-Khalistan elements operating from American soil or Trump’s announcement on imposing reciprocal tariffs from April 2 on its partners and other nations. Gabbard, known to be a practicing Hindu, began her address with “namaste and Jai Shri Krishna”, and said these words reflect the “eternal divine spirit” that exists within each of our hearts, and it’s a reminder that “we are all connected, irrespective of race, ethnicity and religion”. The US Director of National Intelligence, sounding optimistic about the future of India-US relations, said there is a “huge opportunity” to expand the bilateral cooperation in diverse areas. President Trump’s commitment to “America first” and putting the security and freedom of Americans at the forefront of his policies shouldn’t be misunderstood as “America alone”, Gabbard said.

 

This approach is similar to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to “India first” or New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s policy of “New Zealand first”, she stressed. Attacker, victim put on par: Jaishankar on Kashmir: THE “longest-standing” illegal occupation of a territory after World War II has been experienced by India in Kashmir, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday as he highlighted the selective application of global rules on issues pertaining to sovereignty and territorial integrity. In an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue, Jaishankar batted for establishing a “strong and fair” United Nations as he raised concerns over historical injustices in dealing with certain issues.

 

Citing Pakistan’s illegal occupation of Kashmir, the Minister said the “attacker” and the “victim” were clubbed under the same bracket. “After World War II, the longest-standing illegal presence and occupation of a territory by another country pertains to India in Kashmir,” he said. “We went to the UN. What was an invasion was made into a dispute. The attacker and the victim were put on par,” Jaishankar said. The External Affairs Minister said global norms and rules must be applied uniformly. “We need a strong UN but a strong UN requires a fair UN,” he said. “A strong global order must have some basic consistency of standards,” he added.