India and Japan have refuted President Joe Biden’s characterization of them as “xenophobic” countries unwelcoming to immigrants, categorically rejecting his remarks that also lumped them together with China and Russia.
India’s Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, emphasized that historically, India has been open to immigrants and highlighted the nation’s robust economic standing, as reported by The Economic Times newspaper on Saturday.
“First of all, our economy is not faltering,” Jaishankar said at a roundtable hosted by The Economic Times on Friday after Biden said the four nations were failing to capitalize on the economic benefits of migration.
“I think we should be open to people who have the need to come to India, who have a claim to come to India,” Jaishankar added, pointing to a contentious citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for some non-Muslim immigrants.
Japan, which has the lowest immigrant population of any Group of Seven (G7) nation at less than 2 percent, also took issue with the US president’s comments, its embassy in Washington, DC, describing them as “unfortunate” and “not based on an accurate understanding of Japan’s policies”.
At a recent campaign fundraiser, Biden criticized the countries for taking in fewer migrants, while arguing migration has bolstered the US economy.
“Why is China stalling so badly economically, why is Japan having trouble, why is Russia, why is India, because they’re xenophobic.
“They don’t want immigrants,” Biden said at the event, which marked the start of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
“One of the reasons why our economy’s growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants.”
The president’s singling out of Japan and India came as a surprise as he has made a point of strengthening ties with the two nations since taking office in 2021.
Last year, Biden welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House, where he hailed the two countries’ shared “democratic character” and “diversity”.
YOU MAY ALSO READ: 8 soldiers sentenced to death in DRC for showing cowardice against rebels