Washington: The Trump 2.0 administration will be much more mature and also different from the Biden administration, said founder and director of the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) Khanderao Kand.
Kand anticipates closer policy alignment between India and the US in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific region. Kand noted that during the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Trump appears to share India’s stance, favouring diplomatic engagement and negotiations to resolve the conflict.
Trump’s second term could also address issues of concern for Indian foreign policy, such as relations with Canada and Bangladesh.
The Silicon Valley-based tech entrepreneur Kand expressed that the second term for President-elect Donald Trump could strengthen diplomatic efforts on global issues, including the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
He expressed optimism about stronger cooperation between the two nations. “There is a good alignment in those areas … We will see further progress towards working together on global causes,” he said.
Kand added, “India has consistently taken a stand that it needs to be engaged diplomatically and resolve the problem. Trump seems to have a similar viewpoint that there has to be a settlement and negotiations into that”.
On trade, Kand said Trump’s “America First” approach might bring some challenges regarding tariffs but added that both countries could find a transactional path to address them and achieve frictionless progress.
“When it comes to trade, we would see that President Trump is America first… but I would say that the US and India would work out some transactional way to address all these tariffs and have frictionless further progress,” he said.
Kand also discussed the H-1B visa program, emphasizing its importance to the US tech industry.
“Trump and now with Elon Musk, Vice President JD Vance and Vivek Ramaswamy—they are in the power circle and understand the need for tech immigrants to maintain America’s competitiveness globally, particularly in artificial intelligence or cybersecurity,” he said.
The H-1B visa allows US companies to hire foreign workers for specialised roles requiring theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies rely on the program to recruit thousands of employees annually, especially from countries like India and China.
PTI