'A partnership of trust': PM Modi on India-US relations
What's the story
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday told PM Narendra Modi he was committed to making the Indo-American partnership "among the closest on Earth." At a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Quad summit in Tokyo, Biden also said, "There is so much that our countries can and will do together." Hailing the India-US relationship, Modi also said it was "a partnership of trust."
Context
Why does this story matter?
PM Modi, President Biden, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, and Australian PM Anthony Albanese attended the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in Tokyo earlier in the day. The Quad alliance is seen as an attempt to counter the growing dominance of China in the Indo-Pacific region with Beijing resorting to coercive trade practices. Notably, the Quad summit also came in the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Agreement
Biden hailed India's COVID-19 vaccination efforts
Biden also praised India's COVID-19 vaccination efforts during the bilateral meeting with Modi. The American president also said that he was pleased that both countries reached an agreement for the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to support vaccine production and clean energy initiatives in India. His remarks came after Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra and DFC CEO Scott Nathan signed an Investment Incentive Agreement.
Twitter Post
PM Modi's tweet after bilateral talks with President Biden
Had a productive meeting with @POTUS @JoeBiden. Today’s discussions were wide-ranging and covered multiple aspects of India-USA ties including trade, investment, defence as well as people-to-people linkages. pic.twitter.com/kUcylf6xXp
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 24, 2022
Critics
Biden-Modi discuss Russia-Ukraine crisis
On the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Biden said that he and Modi also discussed the effects of Russia's "brutal" invasion of Ukraine and how it was affecting the entire global world order. "The US-India is going to continue consulting closely on how to mitigate these negative effects," Biden said. The US has been one of the world's most outspoken critics of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Background
Biden hosted first-ever Quad summit in March 2021 virtually
The US, India, Japan, and Australia gave shape to the long-pending proposal of establishing the Quad in November 2017. Biden hosted the first-ever Quad summit virtually in March 2021. Washington hosted the first in-person meeting in September 2021, followed by a virtual summit in March 2022 and the second in-person summit in May 2022 in Japan. Australia will host the next summit in 2023.