 Welcome to another capsule on international relations for the Shankar IAS Academy. The topic today is the recent visit to Washington of our Minister for External Affairs, Dr. S. J. Shankar. Dr. J. Shankar has been a major player in the developments in India-U.S. relations in different capacities. But his present visit was a challenge even for him because it took place in exceptional circumstances. It had no parallel in history and said no time had India approached the U.S. in an acute health emergency for which much-needed material to fight a life-and-death battle with a pandemic was necessary. However much we may have projected it as a bilateral visit to a friendly country, the world saw it in the context of the anxiety in India that the second wave of COVID-19 had overwhelmed us and after having claimed victory over the first wave. Even worse, India had given away a stock of medicines and vaccines to other countries to match the Chinese vaccine diplomacy. The Minister's visit was seen like a country seeking weapons to fight a war which it was about to lose. The success of the visit would be judged in India and abroad on the basis of what it achieved in getting massive quantities of vaccines. The fact that the Minister met a number of manufacturers of vaccines spoke volumes about the objectives of the visit. Actually there was a commitment at the level of President Biden to help India as much as possible given his own constraints on the U.S. law to conserve health assets for the needs of his own country. He even went to the extent of offering to waive IPR and patient restrictions on American medical equipment to pave the way for transfer of technology, machinery and vaccines to India. Even before the present acute crisis in India, the Quad had already decided to launch a vaccine program involving U.S. technology, Japanese investment, Indian manufacturing capacity and Australian logistics. Therefore, there is a certain inevitability about the success of the Minister's visit as far as the vaccines are concerned. But how fast it will be delivered and how many thousands of lives will be saved will be the real test of American solidarity with India and the success of the visit of the Minister. The Minister's visit had many other important dimensions, even in normal circumstances. This is the first most important political visit since President Biden took over. China is very much a preoccupation with both the U.S. and China. And convergence of the views and strategy of the two countries will determine the future of the globe. We consider China as an adversary and the U.S. views it as a competitor. But in substance, we are likely to be on the same side. As a country with a land border and a history of conflicts, India may be circumspect, but India is very much on its way to become a committed partner in the Quad. The present freeze in the military situation in Ladakh is a matter of extreme concern to India. And any discussion on the subject between the Minister and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken would have helped. The visit must have provided an opportunity also for an exchange of views on Russia on the eve of the U.S.-Russia summit in June. There have been some concerns in Russia about Indian proximity to the U.S. and described in India about Russia's moves on China and Pakistan. But Russia lived up to its reputation of being a permanent friend by sending Russian vaccines to India expeditiously. The U.S. position on the purchase of the Russian S-400 missiles may also have been discussed. The American deadline for withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan is fast approaching, but an agreement on a new dispensation is not yet in sight. The U.S. has shown interest in involving India in the negotiations, but its proposal for a new format has not materialized. At the same time, India hopes that a complete withdrawal will not take place without a viable dispensation in place. Dr. Jay Shankar may have been updated on the situation. No lease important were the developments in Vienna on the Iran nuclear deal. Iran has already agreed to extend the agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor Iran's nuclear activities. But the question of withdrawal of sanctions before renewing the deal remains unresolved, but there is still hope as the negotiations continue. India's interest in ending sanctions without giving a free hand to Iran to proceed with its nuclear activities is well known. Minister Jay Shankar must have caught up with the American Initiative on Climate Change, about which India has considerable concern. The U.S. and China are engaged in promoting pledging of reduction in emissions without any commitment to provide technology and funding to developing countries. India must have made our reservations clear to the Americans this time in time for the Glasgow Conference in November this year. Secretary of State Blinken had visited the Middle East even when Minister Jay Shankar was in Washington, and the two ministers must have exchanged ideas on the most recent developments. The U.S. stood step-fast with Israel, but the role it played in bringing about a ceasefire and extending assistance to rebuild Gaza are hopeful signs of support to the two nations for Iran. The U.S. will continue to pursue to build upon the Abraham Accords and build peace in West Asia, and it can expect India's support. The meeting of the third minister had with the U.N. Secretary General to seek international cooperation to fight the pandemic was long overdue. If only the U.N. had taken on the coordination of the international efforts to battle the pandemic, the situation would not have been catastrophic in many parts of the world, including India. China may strengthen its resistance to the U.N. initiative because of the renewal of the call for another investigation about COVID-19. But it's very important that the United Nations must take over the coordinating efforts on COVID-19 to prevent a threat to international peace and security. In all these respects, Dr. Chai Shankar's visit was important. Although we do not know the details of the outcome, it must have helped us to understand each other better and also clarifies the issues on which there were shades of differences in opinion. Perhaps this visit may also have helped to prepare the ground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Washington in the near future. Thank you.