Hugs, Handshakes, Bilateral: PM Modi-President Biden Bonhomie In Delaware | Photos

Delaware: PM Modi and President Joe Biden held a strategic bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the crucial Quad meeting, scheduled for later today. Biden is hosting the fourth Quad grouping comprising India, US, Japan and Australia in his hometown. The two leaders discussed global and regional issues. They also discussed Indo-Pacific, supply chains and reiterated support for India's permanent membership at the UNSC.

“US President Biden shared with Prime Minister Modi that the United States supports initiatives to reform global institutions to reflect India’s important voice, including permanent membership for India in a reformed UN Security Council. The Leaders voiced their view that a closer US-India partnership is vital to the success of efforts to build a cleaner, inclusive, more secure, and more prosperous future for the planet,” the White House said in a statement.

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Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, Jake Sullivan, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Eric Garcetti, Ambassador of the United States to India from the US delegation and EAM Dr S Jaishankar, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Ambassador of India to the United States and Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary from the India delegation present at the meeting.

US President Joe Biden commended Prime Minister Modi for his historic visits to Poland and Ukraine, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in decades, and for his message of peace and ongoing humanitarian support for Ukraine, including its energy sector, and on the importance of international law, including the UN charter.

“The Leaders reaffirmed their support for the freedom of navigation and the protection of commerce, including critical maritime routes in the Middle East where India will assume co-lead in 2025 of the Combined Task Force 150 to work with Combined Maritime Forces to secure sea lanes in the Arabian Sea,” White House said. 

US President Biden and Prime Minister Modi hailed a watershed arrangement to establish a new semiconductor fabrication plant focused on advanced sensing, communication, and power electronics for national security, next generation telecommunications, and green energy applications, White House further said.

“The Leaders also welcomed the launch of a new US-India Advanced Materials R&D Forum to expand collaboration between American and Indian universities, national laboratories, and private sector researchers. The Leaders also welcomed the launch of a new US-India Advanced Materials R&D Forum to expand collaboration between American and Indian universities, national laboratories, and private sector researchers,” the White House statement said.

“President Biden welcomed the progress towards India concluding procurement of 31 General Atomics MQ-9B (16 Sky Guardian and 15 Sea Guardian) remotely piloted aircraft and their associated equipment, which will enhance the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of India’s armed forces across all domains,” White House added.

PM Modi and Biden also welcomed India’s signature and ratification of the Agreements under Pillar III, Pillar IV and the overarching Agreement on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).

This was perhaps the last bilateral between PM Modi and Joe Biden before Biden hands over office to new President after November elections.

"The United States' partnership with India is stronger, closer, and more dynamic than any time in history. Prime Minister Modi, each time we sit down, I'm struck by our ability to find new areas of cooperation. Today was no different," said President Biden after bilateral with PM Modi.

Post bilateral with Biden, PM Modi tweeted, "I thank President Biden for hosting me at his residence in Greenville, Delaware. Our talks were extremely fruitful. We had the opportunity to discuss regional and global issues during the meeting.”