New Delhi: On Wednesday, the White House highlighted the Quad Alliance’s significant progress over the last three years. It emphasized the importance of maintaining this momentum until 2024, particularly during India’s host year.
During a press briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed President Biden’s pride in the progress made and the shared vision of a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
“So, I would say this, the president is incredibly proud of the progress the Quad has made over the past three years. To your point, the anniversary is coming up, and we are hoping to continue that momentum in 2024 under India’s host year, as you just stated. And we’re talking about not just the United States but, obviously, India, Japan, and Australia, and we all have a shared vision here, of a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Pierre said.
The Quad, which includes the United States, India, Japan, and Australia, seeks to provide tangible benefits to the Indo-Pacific region in key sectors.
“The Quad is assisting all of our countries in providing tangible benefits to the Indo-Pacific region in a number of critical sectors. So we look forward to continuing that progress for the Quad in 2024, and beyond,” she said.
Moving on to the I2U2 initiative, Pierre emphasized its critical importance and President Biden’s strong commitment to promoting innovative, inclusive, and science-driven solutions. The initiative aims to address issues of food and energy security, space operations, water conservation, waste management, and a variety of other endeavors. The I2U2 Group is made up of India, Israel, the UAE, and the United States.
“I2U2 remains critically important, and the president is deeply committed to making sure that we continue with I2U2, obviously with our partnership among our four countries and beyond through innovative, inclusive, and science-based solutions to advance and not to enhance food and energy security, space operation and other ventures, advancing projects on water conservation, waste management in other areas,” she went on to say.
Pierre emphasized that I2U2 remains a priority and promised a bright future for the partnership, dispelling any notion that it has been sidelined. “So, I2U2 has a promising future. We’re excited to continue that partnership, which hasn’t been put on hold. It certainly remains a priority.”
Pierre addressed concerns about the H1B visa process, highlighting recent actions taken by the administration to improve it. She pointed out that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule governing H1B visas last month.
“Looking at the H1B visa process, we have taken steps to improve it, as well as the process and back laws for lawful permanent residents who are eligible to become US citizens. DHS, for example, published a final rule relating to H1B visas last month as part of our efforts to strengthen the integrity of our immigration system and reduce the possibility of fraud,” the White House press secretary said.
According to Pierre, the changes are intended to promote fairer and more equitable outcomes while strengthening the integrity of the immigration system and reducing the possibility of fraud.
“The changes promote fairer and more equitable outcomes, so we will continue to work to improve the system within our authorities, which has undoubtedly been a priority.” Obviously, I would refer you to US Citizens and Immigration Services for more information on the actions that we have taken, but we take that very seriously and are continuing to do everything we can to improve the visa process,” she added.