MOSCOW, May 4 (Bernama-Sputnik) -- Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has refuted US President Joe Biden’s remarks that India is one of the "xenophobic" states and an economically troubled country, reported Sputnik.
Earlier in the week, at a campaign fundraising event, Biden said Japan and India, along with Russia and China, were "xenophobic" nations that were unwilling to accept immigrants. He cited this as the reason for the countries' economic problems.
"First of all, our economy is not faltering… India has (always) been a very unique country… I would say actually, in the history of the world, that it's been a society which has been very open… different people from different societies come to India," the minister said at a roundtable organised by the Economic Times newspaper on Friday.
Jaishankar pointed to Indian government legislation, which welcomes migrants to visit the country.
"That's why we have the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), which is to open up doors for people who are in trouble… I think we should be open to people who have the need to come to India, who have a claim to come to India," he said.
The White House has said Biden meant no offence to Japan and India, but just expressed a broader US position on the issue of migration.
-- BERNAMA-SPUTNIK
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