Biden admin to place US-India ties on 'high priority', his campaign says

The Biden administration, if elected to power in US after November presidential election, would place a high priority on strengthening US-India ties, his campaign has asserted.

It also said the administration would have no tolerance for terrorism in South Asia.

"We believe that India and the United States are natural partners, and if elected, our administration will place a high priority on continuing to strengthen the US-India relationship," it said in a written response to a series of questions asked by the Hindu American Political Action Committee.

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The committee recently sent a series of questions to the campaigns of former vice-president Joe Biden and President Donald Trump as part of its decision-making process to endorse either of them before the November 3 presidential election.

"The Biden-Harris administration will have no tolerance for terrorism in South Asia -- cross-border or otherwise. Our administration will work to strengthen India's capabilities as a defence and counter-terrorism partner," the Biden campaign said.

"During the Obama-Biden administration, the US and India strengthened their cooperation to fight terrorism in each of our countries and across the region, and if we are elected, the Biden-Harris administration will continue and build on this effort," it said.

Biden also expressed concern about dangerous conditions for religious minorities in South Asia and elsewhere. He said if elected, his administration will renew America's commitment to standing as a beacon of hope for refugees around the world, including those fleeing religious persecution and seeking the freedom to worship as they choose.

He noted that the US is fundamentally a nation of immigrants, and said he is committed to immigration reform that provides a roadmap to citizenship for nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants -- including more than 500,000 from India.

"We will remove the uncertainty for Dreamers by reinstating the DACA programme and explore all legal options to protect their families from inhumane separation. All of this is in direct opposition to Trump's actions," the campaign said.

The Biden-Harris administration will work with the Congress to increase the number of visas awarded for permanent, employment-based immigration -- and promote mechanisms to temporarily reduce the number of visas during times of high US unemployment, it said.

"We will also exempt from any cap recent graduates of PhD programmes in STEM fields in the US... We believe that foreign graduates of a US doctoral programme should be given a green card with their degree and that losing these highly trained workers to foreign economies is a disservice to our own economic competitiveness," it said.

Ajay Bhutoria, national finance committee member of Biden campaign, said in a statement that the Biden-Harris administration will celebrate Hindu holidays, as was done in the Obama-Biden administration, which celebrated Diwali at the White House, the Vice President's residence at the Naval Observatory, and at the Pentagon.

This election year Biden recognised Holi and Ganesh Chaturthi.

Bhutoria said the Biden campaign made history in its outreach to the Hindu-American community. "Biden became the first major-party presidential nominee to respond to a questionnaire for the Hindu-American community," he said.

Biden's a response to real concerns in the community, addressing the unique challenges facing Hindu students to the importance of reforming the immigration system to how to help small businesses recover from COVID-19, Bhutoria said.