Following the diplomatic fracas over his claims about a new COVID-19 strain in Singapore, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appears to have found a face saver in his engagement with the US Embassy over how to jointly address the pandemic.
There was mutual appreciation after the Charge DA'ffaires, US Embassy, Daniel B. Smith called upon Kejriwal digitally for a discussion on the pandemic. In a video conference meeting yesterday, Kejriwal and Smith deliberated on how Delhi and the US can work together to address COVID-19.
At the very outset, Kejriwal inquired about the health of the US embassy officials and also said that once the COVID-19 situation eases, the two sides can hold discussions in person.
After the meeting, the Chief Minister's Office tweeted, “H.E. Daniel B. Smith, Charge D'Affaires, USA @USAmbIndia called on Hon'ble CM Shri @ArvindKejriwal today. Both the leaders deliberated on how the State of Delhi and the USA can work together to address the COVID pandemic.”
Smith reciprocated the CMO's tweet, by stating on Twitter today that it was a pleasure to meet the chief minister, and the United States stands with the people of Delhi and India in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kejriwal had on May 18 tweeted that a new COVID-19 variant in Singapore was a cause for concern as it was extremely dangerous for children. He had asked the Centre to cancel air services with Singapore. There was a strong rebuttal from Singapore to Kejriwal's claims and Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar tweeted that “irresponsible comments from those who should know better can damage long-standing partnerships”.
“So, let me clarify – Delhi CM does not speak for India,” Jaishankar said.