Modi, Biden consolidate India and US friendship to further ‘global good’
Hindustan TimesPrime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden, in their second bilateral meeting in three months, have hailed the “close and enduring” partnership between the two countries; lauded the progress made in implementing the “groundbreaking achievements” during Modi’s state visit to Washington in June; and told their governments to continue to transform the bilateral strategic partnership “across all dimensions of our multifaceted global agenda, based on trust and mutual understanding”. The friendship between our nations will continue to play a great role in furthering global good.” In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said that Modi, during the meeting, expressed his appreciation for Biden’s consistent support for India’s G20 presidency as well as his “vision and commitment to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, which is based on shared democratic values, strategic convergences and strong people-to-people ties”. Biden and Modi also reaffirmed the importance of Quad and the principles of free, open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific, with Modi saying he “looked forward to welcoming President Biden to the next Quad Leaders’ Summit to be hosted by India in 2024”. “Both sides recommitted to advancing India’s emergence as a hub for the maintenance and repair of forward-deployed U.S. Navy assets and other aircraft and vessels.” The two countries also welcomed the intensified discussions between the two sides on expanding opportunities for facilitating India-US collaboration in nuclear energy, but there is no breakthrough yet in the domain.