India is not xenophobic: Jaishankar dismisses Joe Biden's comment

Indian foreign minister SJaishankar dismissed US President Joe Biden's comment that xenophobia was hobbling the South Asian nation's economic growth, as reported by The Economic Times on Saturday (May 4).

During a round table hosted by the newspaper on Friday (May 3), Jaishankar said that India's economy is not faltering and that it has been a society that is very open.

"This is the reason we have the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which is to open up doors for people who are in trouble. I think we should be open to people who have the need to come to India, who have a claim to come to India," Jaishankar said, referring to a law that allows immigrants who have fled persecution from neighbouring countries to become citizens.

Earlier this week, Biden stated that xenophobia in China, Japan, and India was impeding economic growth in those countries. He contrasted this with the positive impact of immigration on the US economy, highlighting that welcoming immigrants contributes to America's economic vitality.

"One of the reasons why our economy's growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants," Biden said during a fundraising event for his 2024 re-election campaign, which coincided with the start of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast last month that growth in Asia's three largest economies would slow in 2024 from the previous year.

The IMF also forecast that the US economy would grow 2.7%, slightly brisker than its 2.5% rate last year. Many economists attribute the upbeat forecastpartly to migrants expanding the country's labour force.

US Immigration

Concern over illegal migration has become a top issue for the US voters ahead of November's presidential election.

In a recent interview with the TIME magazine, Republican presidential nominee and former president Donald Trump suggested that if elected, he would take up a massive deportation program to deport about 15-20 million people from the US, in what Trump described were "illegal migrants".

Biden has opposed the rhetoric of his Republican opponent Donald Trump as anti-immigrant.

Watch:Biden Scores Self-Goal, Blames ‘Xenophobia’ for China, India's Economic Troubles

When Trump was asked about his vow to launch the largest deportation operation in American history, the former US president said: "Because we have no choice."

"I don't believe this is sustainable for a country, what's happening to us, with probably 15 million and maybe as many as 20 million by the time Biden's out. Twenty million people, many of them from jails, many of them from prisons, many of them from mental institutions."

(With inputs from agencies)