By President Joe Biden with Prime Minister Narendra ModiWashington [US], September 26 (ANI): US President Joe Biden, who recently held the first in-person bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said ties between two of the world’s largest democracies – India and the states – United – are meant to be “stronger, closer and tighter”.
On Friday, Biden welcomed Prime Minister Modi to the White House for the bilateral meeting and discussed a wide range of priority issues, including the fight against COVID-19, climate change, trade and the Indo-Pacific .
Prime Minister Modi called the bilateral summit with Biden “important” as they meet at the start of the third decade of this century.
He also held one-on-one meetings with the CEOs of Qualcomm, Adobe, First Solar, General Atomics and Blackstone and discussed a number of issues ranging from drones to 5G to semi. -conductors and solar energy.
The United States and India are committed to tackling the most difficult challenges the two countries face together.
“This morning, I received Prime Minister Modi at the White House as we launch a new chapter in the history of US-Indian relations. Our two nations are the greatest democracies in the world and we are committed to raising the toughest challenges we face – together, â€Biden tweeted.
Prime Minister Modi, who was on a three-day visit to the United States, held his first bilateral meeting with US President Biden and attended the Quad Leaders Summit.
Since January, PM Modi and Biden have participated in three summits. Two of them were hosted by President Biden – the Virtual Quad Summit in March and the Climate Change Summit in April, which was also held virtually.
Prime Minister Modi concluded his three-day visit to the United States on Saturday.
Biden and Modi began their talks with comments on the promise of the Indo-American relationship, areas they would work on such as COVID-19, and the climate and importance of the diaspora. Their opening remarks were peppered with jokes and laughter, interspersed with a serious description of the discussions to come.
Modi said that under Biden’s leadership, the seeds had been sown for Indo-American relations to develop and enter a “phase of transformation.” In this context, he spoke of the growing importance of people-to-people bonds and said Indian talent would be a “full partner” in this relationship.
In addition to talks with US President Biden, the Prime Minister also met with US Vice President Kamala Harris and the Prime Ministers of Australia and Japan on Thursday.
On September 24, U.S. Vice President Harris met with Prime Minister Modi to reaffirm the strategic partnership between the two countries, the White House said in a statement.
“They discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and collaborative efforts to respond and recover, including cooperation on vaccine production as part of the Quad Vaccine Partnership,†the White House said.
According to the statement, Harris praised India’s commitment to resume vaccine exports and the progress of its national immunization campaign. The US Vice President and Prime Minister Modi agreed that ambitious action to tackle climate change is imperative in the face of the climate crisis.
“They each stressed a commitment to democratic values ​​and discussed the need to strengthen democracy at home and abroad. They supported the expansion of bilateral security cooperation in the face of modern threats, including the terrorism and cybercrime, â€the statement read.
Earlier today, Foreign Minister Harsh Vardhan Shringla said both Prime Minister Modi and US Vice President Harris value India-US bilateral relations, which they believe to be strong given the shared values, interest common for growing strategic convergence.
Prime Minister Modi returned to New Delhi today after concluding his three-day visit to the United States. (ANI)