Greenville (Delaware) [US], September 21 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a three-day visit to the US, met US President Joe Biden on Saturday morning (local time). The two leaders are expected to discuss China and Russia in the bilateral meeting.
The meeting is taking place at the personal residence of President Biden. The US delegation is comprised of 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, while the Indian delegation consisted of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Ambassador of India to US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
Notably, this could be the last bilateral meeting between the two leaders, as Biden is in his last month of his presidency. The 2024 US Presidential Election is scheduled for November 5, 2024.
Vice President Kamala Harris is the Democratic nominee after Biden exited the race in July, and she is up against the Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump.
Earlier, the US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan indicated that the focus areas between the two leaders would be the ongoing Ukraine conflict and India’s stance on Russia and China.
Sullivan emphasised the US view that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine violates international law and norms. He stressed that countries like India should support sovereignty and territorial integrity, and refrain from supplying inputs to Russia’s war efforts.
“I won’t go too deep into the details of what he will say on those issues, which are obviously sensitive and will obviously be critical priorities in the bilateral meeting. I will just say that the United States has been clear about our view that Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine flouted every norm and principle of international law, that 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 for it to be able to continue to prosecute this brutal war. So they will talk about that. The President will also hear from Prime Minister Modi about his trip to Ukraine, which was an important and indeed historic trip, and it will be the opportunity for the two of them to talk about their respective views on the way forward.”
Further, Sullivan also affirmed that the two leaders will discuss China’s actions in the Indo-Pacific during their bilateral meeting.
“And then, with respect to China, you know, they will talk about how they see China’s actions in the region where China is headed. And that’s not just true in the security domain, but in the economic and technology domain as well,” Sullivan said.
On being asked about QUAD and if China looks at it as if it focuses on them, US NSA Jake Sullivan said the focus will be on a free and open Indo-Pacific.
“The leaders are going to talk about all of the significant developments and dynamics in the Indo-Pacific. But my point is that the purpose of the QUAD is not to come together around China or any other country. It’s to come together around how to construct a free and open Indo-Pacific and actions and policies that disrupt or undermine that are certainly not just of interest but are going to be a matter of discussion for Quad members. These issues are on the agenda because they relate to a free and Open Indo-Pacific, but China is not the focus of the QUAD, and the QUAD is not about one country. It is about a larger vision that we’re all trying to work,” Sullivan said.
Both leaders are slated to attend a summit-level meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
At the Quad Summit, the leaders will review the progress achieved by the Quad over the past year and set the agenda for the year ahead to assist the countries of the Indo-Pacific region in meeting their development goals and aspirations, the Ministry of External Affairs stated.
The first Quad Leaders’ Summit was held in virtual format in 2021. The second Quad Leaders’ Summit (first in-person) was held in Washington, DC, on September 24, 2021. The third Quad Leaders’ Summit was held virtually on March 3, 2022.
The fourth Quad Leaders’ Summit (second in-person) was hosted by Japan on May 24, 2022. The fifth Quad Leaders’ Summit (third in-person) was held in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 20, 2023. (ANI)
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