Antony Blinken, the Foreign Minister of a country, visited India on July 27 and 28, 2021, for strengthening cooperation. He belongs to which of the following countries?

1. A

   United Kingdom

   The United Kingdom’s foreign secretary in 2021 was not Antony Blinken. UK names on India visits that year were different. Assigning Blinken to Britain confuses two English-speaking allies.

2. B

   United States of America

   (b) Official key: Antony J. Blinken was the United States Secretary of State. He visited India on 27–28 July 2021 to strengthen the bilateral and Quad-related partnership. Among UK, USA, France and Australia, he belongs to the United States of America.

3. C

   France

   France’s foreign minister in that period was not Blinken (Jean-Yves Le Drian then). France is an Indo-Pacific partner but not Blinken’s country. This option is a wrong European capital.

4. D

   Australia

   Australia’s foreign minister in 2021 was Marise Payne, not Blinken. Australia is in the Quad with the US, which may cause the mix-up. Blinken is American.

Summary. Official key is (b). Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, visited India on 27–28 July 2021. He is not the UK Foreign Secretary, nor the French or Australian foreign minister. The country is the United States of America.