Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar Disputes Biden's Label of Indian 'Xenophobia,' Defends CAA and Open Economy
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar disputed US President Joe Biden's assertion that xenophobia was hindering India's economic growth.
Jaishankar, speaking at a roundtable hosted by The Economic Times, maintained that India's economy was not faltering and that the country has a history of being open.
He cited the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as an example of India's openness, allowing immigrants from neighboring countries who have faced persecution to become citizens.
Earlier in the week, Biden had suggested that xenophobia in China, Japan, and India was impeding growth in these economies, and he argued that migration had benefited the US economy.
President Biden, at a fundraising event for his 2024 re-election campaign and the start of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, acknowledged the contribution of immigrants to the growing US economy.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasted that the economies of Asia's three largest countries would slow down in 2024, while the US economy is expected to grow at a slightly faster rate of 2.7 percent.
Economists attribute this growth in part to the expansion of the labor force due to immigration.