NEW DELHI: India has asked the US to reconsider its latest order on foreign students, saying it would seriously inconvenience the 2,00,000-strong Indian student community in US.
Strongly raising the issue during consultations on Tuesday between foreign secretary Harsh Shringla and US undersecretary David Hale, India said it was “disappointed” by the order. The US Student and Exchange Visitor Program has issued a direction asking foreign students in US schools and colleges, whose classes have moved online, to return to their own countries.
This, Shringla said, would only aggravate the uncertainty students are already battling with Covid. India asked for “flexibility” in the US guidelines to make it easier for Indian students studying there.
In their answer, the US side agreed to take a relook at the issue. Detailed implementation guidelines for the F-1 visa are yet to come out, sources said.
The India-US foreign office consultations, coming in the middle of a bitter confrontation between India and China, focused a lot on China. US Secretary of State Mike pompeo has indicated the US may also ban Chinese mobile apps, like India. In addition, the Indo-Pacific featured in the talks today. India and US are together in an Indo-Pacific dialogue within the Quad Plus format, as the countries seek to cooperate in a post-Covid situation.
India and US also talked extensively on Afghanistan and on cooperating in the UN Security Council, which India joins as a non-permanent member for two years from January 2021.
A statement by MEA at the end of the talks said “They agreed on the need to deepen cooperation in the United Nations, especially during India's membership of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2021-2022.”
The statement added, “they agreed to further strengthen the bilateral health partnership, including on pharmaceuticals and vaccine development.” The US, in their statement said, “They also agreed that the US-India health partnership, including cooperation on pharmaceutical and vaccine development, will continue to play a critical role in the world’s recovery from Covid-19. “
Listing the topics discussed, the US state department in their statement said, “The discussions included ongoing threats to the rules-based international order, bilateral and multilateral diplomatic cooperation, maritime security, and the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
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