The QUAD summit scheduled for January 27th has been postponed.
The summit was scheduled to be today, a day after India’s Republic Day. US president Joe Biden was invited to be the chief guest for the latter event, an honour reserved for India’s closest partners. However, he cancelled both events citing both congressional and campaign commitments.
Biden is currently kicking off his joint campaign rally with his VP Kamala Harris. Amidst the resurgence of former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, it is likely that Biden will refocus his efforts inwards to not only secure another term in office, but to also address various domestic structural issues aswell as delivering the annual State of Union address.
His decision not to attend both QUAD summits i.e., the current and the previously cancelled May summit has set speculations about a potential rift in Indo-US relations. This has also been compounded by an assassination attempt at an American Sikh separatist under the orders of an Indian Official. However, given the raft of deals signed between India and the US strengthening bilateral, military and strategic relations, it is unlikely that Biden’s absence will cause any form of diplomatic dent in relations between the two partners.
Jasmine is an analyst that writes for the Daily Brief.