Potential for collaboration between India and US unprecedented as Trump set to begin term: Former Prasar Bharti CEO writes in Baltimore Sun
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In an unprecedented development, the Foreign Ministers of the Quad nations are to be present in Washington DC for the inaugural ceremony of US President-elect Donald Trump. “The Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting is expected to be in Washington, DC for the inaugural ceremony of President Trump…We will share the further details,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in the weekly press briefing today.
The ceremonial event is set to take place on Monday (January 20), approximately two weeks after Trump’s electoral college win was certified by the US Congress.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to Quad Leaders’ Summit in the United States last year. The summit was held in President Joe Biden’s hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. PM Modi, along with President Biden, Australian PM Anthony Albanese and then Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, agreed to further enhance cooperation and work towards a safe and secure Indo-Pacific.
Now, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of Donald Trump as the 47th US President. He will attend the ceremony at the invitation of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee. “On the invitation of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar will represent the Government of India at the Swearing-In Ceremony of President-Elect Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States of America,” the MEA said in a statement.
Donald Trump won the US presidential elections in November last year. He won 312 electoral votes against Harris’ 226 votes.
With this, Trump became only the second US President to serve two non-consecutive terms. Trump winning the popular vote also made him the first Republican to win the popular vote since George W Bush in 2004.
As US, under the incoming administration of Donald Trump, and India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term look to navigate a transformative era, the potential for collaboration between two nations has never been greater, Shashi Shekhar Vempati, former CEO of Prasar Bharati wrote in his opinion column in The Baltimore Sun.
Shashi Shekhar Vempati, who is a member of the Advanced Television Systems Committee’s Business Advisory Council, in his article noted that, understanding the transformation of India under PM Modi is critical for American policymakers, opinion leaders and citizens.
India and US, with deep roots in the principles of freedom and democracy, face shared challenges like safeguarding free speech, combating misinformation and ensuring that technological advances bolster instead of undermine democratic institutions, he argued.
Vempati stated that India under PM Modi’s governance focused on digital inclusion, has shown the world the role technology can play as a democratizing force. In line with US’ strategic interests, the two nations can together lead the way in harnessing media, technology and governance innovations to uphold and advance democratic values.
According to Vempati, the new Trump administration gives hope to yet another point of technological convergence between India and the US with the potential to strengthen democracy. Direct-to-mobile broadcasting, or D2M, is a new technology using the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard, is a case in point on geo-political convergence through transformative technologies for democracy, The Baltimore Sun reported.
As democratic partners, India and the US have shared interest in media resilience and integrity. The digital age has increased the risks posed by misinformation, deepfakes and algorithmic biases. By using ATSC 3.0 and D2M into the media ecosystems, the two nations can lead the fight against these threats.
A joint task force focused on media resilience could create ethical standards and make tools to ensure authenticity and integrity of content in the face of disinformation from foreign actors. India’s expertise in digital public goods and US innovation in frontier technologies make a natural synergy. Both nations together can lead global efforts to defend democracy against foreign interference through secure broadcasting and misinformation detection, according to The Baltimore Sun report.
Shashi Shekhar Vempati stated that the convergence of interests between India under PM Modi’s leadership and US under Trump’s administration is more than a strategic alignment. According to him, it is an opportunity to lead by example in redefining democracy for the 21st century, creating a shared vision of democratic and technological leadership. The two nations can build a world where democracy thrives, technology uplifts and freedom endure.
