PM Modi meets President Biden at Wilmington ahead of Quad summit
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and India’s Ambassador to the U.S. Vinay Mohan Kwatra were present at the meeting from the Indian side; NSA Ajit Doval has not accompanied the Prime Minister to the U.S.
by Sriram Lakshman · The HinduPrime Minister Narendra Modi met U.S President Joe Biden on Saturday (September 21, 2024) for bilateral talks at the President’s house in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. The meeting took place shortly after the Prime Minister arrived in the city for a summit-level meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) with President Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Mr. Biden, who is the final months of his presidency, hosted the leaders at his home, keen to emphasise the connections with his counterparts that has fuelled his diplomacy. The White House pool and Indian traveling press did not have access to this “personal meeting“ as the White House described the bilateral talks.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and India’s Ambassador to the U.S. Vinay Mohan Kwatra were present at the meeting from the Indian side. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. National Security Adviser (NSA) Jake Sullivan and U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti were present from the U.S. side.
NSA Ajit Doval not included in U.S. visit
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is not in the U.S., The Hindu has confirmed. Mr. Doval’s name was on a U.S. District Court summons earlier this week in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Sources said Mr. Doval hasn’t travelled to the U.S. due to Jammu Kashmir elections and domestic commitments.
“The United States’ partnership with India is stronger, closer, and more dynamic than any time in history,” Mr. Biden tweeted, adding that he was “struck“ by Mr. Modi’s ability to find new areas of cooperation.
The flagship event of the day — the Quad Summit, which is being held at Mr. Biden’s high school — is expected to announce new joint coast guard exercises, an initiative to combat cancer, and an expansion of the Quad fellowship.
China and Russia would be “critical priorities” in the bilateral meeting between Mr. Modi and Mr. Biden, Mr. Sullivan said earlier in the day.
“Countries like India should step up and support the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that every country everywhere should refrain from supplying inputs to Russia’s war machine,” Mr. Sullivan said, adding that Mr. Biden would hear from Mr. Modi about the Prime Minister’s visit to Ukraine in August.
On China, Mr. Sullivan said the two leaders would discuss not just security but also technology and economic aspects of their dynamics with Beijing and try and coordinate approaches “to the extent that it makes sense for both countries”.
However, Mr. Sullivan also said there would not be a “Quad approach” to China and that each country has its own approach to Beijing.
China, along with other countries, like DPRK (North Korea) will be discussed and the Summit’s joint statement will contain “some of the strongest language” to date on the South China Sea and with regard to North Korea, another senior U.S. administration official said.
The U.S. Coast Guard will welcome Indian, Australian and Japanese coast guards on board its vessel in the Indo-Pacific, with other countries then taking turns to host, as part of a new Quad initiative.
In the context of China, a senior Biden administration official emphasised that the Quad continues to be defined “as a partnership, not a military alliance of any kind”.
On the joint exercises by the coast guards of Quad members, the official said it was not to be seen as a red flag but consistent with the Quad’s goal of “reinforcing peace and stability and the continuity of international law”.
The ‘Quad Cancer Moonshot‘, a pet project of Mr. Biden, whose adult son died of cancer in 2015, will involve screening, vaccines and treatment, supported by donations from all four Quad partners, a senior administration official told reporters on the eve of the summit.
The Summit will also announce that the Quad fellowship, a programme launched in 2021 to bring STEM graduate students from Quad countries to the U.S. for further study, is officially being expanded to include students from South East Asian countries.
Along with the coast guard exercise, a Quad logistics network will be launched that allows for sharing cargo space on vessels and aircraft for humanitarian and disaster relief (HADR) missions. The outcomes will also involve Open RAN (radio access networks) pilots in the Pacific Islands and South East Asia.
The Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), a programme to monitor the marine environment for unregulated fishing and humanitarian disasters, will be expanded to cover the Indian Ocean region, under India’s leadership, a Biden administration official said.
This expansion will include new training programmes and the deployment of new technology. The programme has been conducting pilot exercises in the region.
Published - September 21, 2024 08:41 pm IST