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Blinken, Jaishankar for enhanced US-India educational ties

US and India held the fourth 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue on Monday

blinken-jaishankar-pti Secretary of State Antony Blinken and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar host a US-India higher education dialogue at the Howard University Founders Library in Washington | AP/PTI

The two top diplomats of India and the US have underscored the importance of deepening the educational ties between the two countries to further cement their growing bilateral strategic relationship.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended an event at Howard University on Tuesday as part of the US-India Higher Education Discussion.

Blinken, in his address said that as the world's oldest and largest democracies, the US and India "always have something to learn from each other".

He said the two countries held the fourth 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue on Monday and decided to step up bilateral cooperation, especially in the education sector.

The two countries have announced their intent to establish a new India-US Education and Skills Development Working Group.

"We're incredibly fortunate in the United States to have 200,000 Indians studying at our universities, enriching our campuses, enriching our fellow citizens," he said.

Blinken highlighted the importance of building stronger bonds between the higher education systems of the two countries.

"Many of you have benefited from studying in each other's countries. And you're using that knowledge now to teach in the other's country. That's a very powerful thing," he said.

The top American diplomat noted that one of the things diplomats talk a lot about is the importance, the strength, the imperative of people-to-people ties.

"We do a lot of work as diplomats between our countries, but ultimately what really matters are those bonds between our people between students, between businessmen and women, between academics, between tourists and others. This is what really brings us together," he said.

In his address, Jaishankar said that though he and Blinken had a fairly busy day on Monday they chose to meet again at an education event at a university the next day.

"And the answer is that our business as foreign ministers, as diplomats, is about connecting countries, connecting societies, and we do that through connecting people.

"And when it comes to people, the most natural place to focus is on young minds with a curiosity about the world, of people whose lives are still very much ahead of them. If our presence today enhances your interest in India-US relations, then I can say, and I'm sure, Tony, you would agree with this, that it's a good day's work for us," Jaishankar said.

Jaishankar noted that Indo-US ties has undergone a real transformation in the last two decades.

"A key driver of this change has been its human element. The 4.4 million Indian diaspora has literally defined our image in this society and helped forge relationships that are an enormous source of strength for us in our work," he said.

"At its centre are students, academics, researchers, and professionals who have contributed to America's progress even as they remain the bridge between our two societies," he said, underlining the importance to develop and nurture the people-to-people linkages.

"For our ties to grow it is equally necessary that there is a better understanding of India and the world on the part of young Americans," Jaishankar said, adding that "we are natural partners only when our people have a strong sense of connect."

Lauding the vibrant educational linkages between India and the US, the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue on Monday agreed to further strengthen cooperation in the field of education and skill development through joint collaborations and promote student and scholar mobility to build people-to-people linkages between the two countries.

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