US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden paid tribute to the former Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh. The US President said that the cooperation between the country and India wouldn’t have been possible without former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s “strategic vision and political courage”. Biden referred to him as a “dedicated servant”.
In his statement, Biden said, that Singh played a crucial role in forming the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement to help launch the first Quad between Indo-Pacific partners. He also said that the “former PM charted pathbreaking progress that will continue to strengthen our nations and the world for generations to come.”
The former prime minister passed away at AIIMS, Delhi, on Thursday evening at the age of 92 due to age-related medical conditions.
Biden said that he had met Prime Minister Singh as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2008 and then again as the Vice President during his Official State Visit to the United States in 2009. He further added that he was hosted “graciously” in New Delhi in 2013.
The “US-India relationship is among the most consequential in the world” said Biden and the two countries were able to “unlock a future of dignity and unlimited potential for all of our people.”
During this difficult time, he said that the US reaffirms its commitment to the vision that Prime Minister Singh devoted his life to. He and First Lady Jill Biden sent their condolences to former First Lady Gursharan Kaur, their three children, and all the people of India.
On Thursday, US Ambassador Eric Garcetti lauded the former Prime Minister for initiating a “historic chapter” in US-India relations, particularly through the civil nuclear deal. Along with several other world leaders and diplomats.
Singh was a noted economist and a respected figure in India and abroad. Manmohan Singh served as India’s Prime Minister for two terms from 2004 to 2014. His tenure was marked by economic reforms, the signing of the civil nuclear deal with the US, and the strengthening of India’s global standing.
His mortal remains will be kept at his residence 3, Motilal Nehru Road till Friday where several veteran politicians including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Amit Shah and JP Nadda, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, and party MP Priyanka Gandhi paid their last respects.
The Centre declared a seven-day state mourning in honour of the departed soul. The National Flag also flew at half-mast on government buildings across the country.
