'There are stupid people in the United States...': From racism to visa issues, what Rubio said in presser with Jaishankar

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday (May 24) addressed a presser alongside India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and answered range of questions from India-US ties, global challenges and racism against Indians in the US. Emphasizing the growing depth of the US-India relationship during a joint press conference, Rubio highlighted that New Delhi is one of Washington's most important strategic partners globally. Rubio also said India and the United States shared a strong counterterrorism partnership because both countries had suffered from global terrorist networks, directly and indirectly. He added that this had created strong strategic alignment between Washington and New Delhi on security issues.

What Rubio said on US-India cooperation?

Rubio also highlighted the broad scope of India-US cooperation, saying the range of issues both countries worked on reflected why India was among America’s most important strategic partners globally. He said the two democracies shared common interests and values, and emphasised growing collaboration in technology, innovation, global commerce and ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region. "The list of issues that we work together with India on, the breadth of scope of them, is what highlights the fact that India is an important strategic partner in the United States, one of our most important strategic partners in the world." On security cooperation, the US Secretary of State stressed the strong counterterrorism partnership between Washington and New Delhi. "On the issue of terrorism, both of our countries have suffered, both directly and indirectly, because of global terrorist networks. There was a strong counterterrorism alignment as a result of that," Rubio said.

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What Rubio said on racist remark?

On racist comments targeting Indians in the US, Rubio said such remarks were made by “stupid people” and did not represent the broader American society. He said every country had people who made offensive comments, but stressed that the United States remained an immigrant-friendly nation whose growth and success had been shaped by people from around the world. “I’m sure that there are people that have made comments online and other places, because every country in the world has stupid people,” Rubio said. “I’m sure there’s stupid people here. There are stupid people in the United States that make dumb comments all the time,” he added.

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What Rubio said on visa issues?

Rubio said recent changes to J1, F1 and H-1B visa policies were part of a broader modernisation of the US immigration system and were not targeted specifically at India. He acknowledged the significant contribution of Indian companies to the US economy, noting that they had invested over $20 billion in the country and expressing hope that the figure would continue to grow. Rubio added that the immigration reforms were being implemented globally as the United States dealt with what he described as a migration crisis caused by millions of illegal entries in recent years. He added that every country had the right to shape its immigration policies according to its national interest.