Foreign Minister of a country, Anthony Blinken had visited two days to India for strengthening co-operation on July 27 and 28 in 2021. He belongs to which of the following countries ?
- (a)United Kingdom
- (b)United States of America
- (c)France
- (d)Australia
Correct — B, United States of America. Antony J. Blinken is the US Secretary of State — the chief diplomat who heads the State Department and functions as the American equivalent of a 'Foreign Minister.' He visited New Delhi on 27–28 July 2021 to strengthen the India–US partnership, meeting External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Blinken is a national of and represents the United States, so option (b) is correct.
- (a)United Kingdom — Wrong — Blinken is the US Secretary of State, not a British minister. The UK's Foreign Secretary at that time was Dominic Raab, not Blinken.
- (c)France — Wrong — Blinken represents the United States. France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs in 2021 was Jean-Yves Le Drian.
- (d)Australia — Wrong — Blinken is American. Australia's Foreign Minister in 2021 was Marise Payne.
Antony Blinken became the 71st US Secretary of State on 26 January 2021 under President Joe Biden. In the US system there is no post titled 'Foreign Minister'; the Secretary of State heads the Department of State and is the country's top diplomat, so the term 'Foreign Minister of a country' in the question maps to this office. His late-July 2021 India visit focused on the Indo-Pacific and the Quad, COVID-19 cooperation, Afghanistan and regional security.
The trap is the phrase 'Foreign Minister' — the United States does not use that title, so a student may wrongly rule out the USA. Recognising Blinken as Biden's Secretary of State (the US chief diplomat) fixes the answer to the United States over the UK, France or Australia.
- Antony Blinken = 71st US Secretary of State (in office since 26 January 2021) — the US equivalent of a foreign minister.
- He visited New Delhi on 27–28 July 2021, meeting EAM S. Jaishankar and PM Narendra Modi.
- Agenda included the Indo-Pacific/Quad, COVID-19 vaccines, Afghanistan and human rights.
- The US calls its chief diplomat the 'Secretary of State', not 'Foreign Minister'.
- Assuming 'Foreign Minister' rules out the USA — the US title is 'Secretary of State'
- Confusing the US 'Secretary of State' with a US state-government secretary of state
UPPSC/UPSC current-affairs items pair a visiting dignitary with their country or office — track who holds the US Secretary of State post and similar key global offices.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who held the office of US Secretary of State during his July 2021 visit to India?
- (a)Mike Pompeo
- (b)Antony Blinken
- (c)John Kerry
- (d)Rex Tillerson
Answer(b) Antony Blinken — appointed US Secretary of State in January 2021 under President Biden.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In the United States, the office of 'Secretary of State' is functionally equivalent to which office in India?
- (a)Home Minister
- (b)Cabinet Secretary
- (c)Minister of External Affairs
- (d)Defence Minister
Answer(c) Minister of External Affairs — both are the country's chief diplomat handling foreign affairs.