Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Tulsi Gabbard, the United States’ Director of National Intelligence, in Delhi Monday evening.
Ms Gabbard’s meeting with the PM followed a talk with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in which he called on the US to act against Khalistani terror group Sikhs For Justice. During their meeting the two also exchanged gifts; Mr Modi presented the US intel chief with a vase with Ganga water from Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, which hosted the Maha Kumbh.
This is Ms Gabbard’s second meeting with the Prime Minister in two months; the two met in February, when Mr Modi was in Washington, D.C. for a bilateral with President Donald Trump. Then, Mr Modi and Ms Gabbard discussed ways to enhance cooperation to tackle threats like terrorism and cybersecurity, and “set the tone and vision for a stronger India-US partnership”.
Before the sit-down with the Prime Minister, Ms Gabbard met Rajnath Singh to discuss a number of issues, including intel-sharing, to further deepen the India-US partnership. This, in turn, was before she met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Both Mr Singh and Mr Doval, sources raised the Khalistani terrorist issue, with specific reference to concerns about anti-India elements operating from American soil. On Tuesday Ms Gabbard will address the Raisina Dialogue – India’s premier multi-national forum on geopolitics and geoeconomics hosted by India since 2016.
Tulsi Gabbard is in India as part of a multi-nation visit to the Indo-Pacific that includes stops at Japan and Thailand, and focuses on “building strong relationships, understanding, and open lines of communication” to achieve Trump’s ‘peace, freedom, and prosperity’ objectives.
She was appointed the US’ Director of National Intelligence last month and, in this role, oversees 18 American intelligence agencies, including the CIA, the FBI, and the NSA, on a budget of nearly $100 billion.