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'QUAD members taking on leadership roles, 2024 a big year for...': US

US President Joe Biden is looking forward to his visit to India in September for G-20 Summit, his administration’s point person for South and Central Asia has said. Noting that 2024 is going to be a “big year” for the India-US relationship, Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, said in an interview that India's leadership in the G-20 further broadens its capacity to stand as a force for good in the world.

“This is gonna be a big year. Of course, India is hosting the G-20. This year, the is hosting APEC. Japan is hosting the G7. We have lots of our members who are taking on leadership roles. And it provides opportunities for all of us to bring our countries closer together,” Donald Lu told PTI in an interview on Thursday.

“I know our President is looking forward to travelling to India in September. That will be his first trip to India as part of the G-20 Leaders Summit. We're really excited about what's to come in the next few months,” he said.

“We're only a little over three months into this new year. And we've had a number of really exciting things that happened,” he said, referring to the recent visit of US Secretary of State Tony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Lu also mentioned the recent arrival of the new US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, who filled a key diplomatic position that has been vacant for more than two years. The controversial former Los Angeles mayor won his tumultuous bid to become US ambassador to India last month after his nomination got stalled over criticism of his handling of sexual harassment allegations against an aide.

"He has already received a really warm welcome from our Indian and American staff at the US Embassy. Once he presents his credentials, he is looking forward to meeting with the rest of India and I think India will find that he is young, he is enthusiastic, and he's eager to bring our relations to new heights,” Lu said.

Lu emphasized the importance of the G-20 as a powerful forum where the world's leading economies can come together to respond to global challenges such as food security, health, energy insecurity, climate change, and unsustainable debt. India as the president of the G-20 has been taking a lead in advancing a positive agenda for the G-20.

“In March Dr Jaishankar hosted his QUAD counterparts for a ministerial meeting and extraordinary public events at the Raisina Dialogue with all four foreign ministers together. It was the first such public discussion with QUAD foreign ministers and really drove home how our four countries are coming together to support the people of the Indo-Pacific,” he said.