Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Washington on Wednesday on an official visit to the U.S. during which he will hold the first face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris, attend the maiden in-person Quad summit and address the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Mr. Modi, who is visiting the U.S . for the seventh time after assuming office in 2014, said his visit would be an occasion to strengthen the Indo-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and consolidate ties with Japan and Australia.
Over the next two days he will be meeting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Prime Ministers of uastralia and Japan Scott Morrison and Yoshihide Suga, Mr. Modi informed in a tweet. “Will attend the Quad meeting and would also interact with leading CEOs to highlight economic opportunities in India," he added.
The U.S., in the meanwhile, has ruled out adding India or Japan to security alliance with Australia and the U.K.
Here are the latest developments:
SCO vs Quad for India
On two Fridays, a week apart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attending two very different summits, that some would call geopolitical contradictions of each other. On the one hand, there is the SCO or Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, that is made up of Russia, China, Pakistan, Central Asian countries, India and now Iran…and on the other a visit to Washington to attend the US-Australia-Japan-India Quadrilateral summit.
What are the differences between them:
Opinion | Improving the economic game
The Quad (Australia, Japan, India and the U.S.) meets in a landmark physical summit this week. The agenda for the Quad has widened — till now, it was largely focused on strengthening strategic and defence pillars. This should now bring industry into the dialogue process to advance the desired outcomes.
Businesses can help meet the objectives of the Quad, writes Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry
What’s on the menu for Quad summit?
Free and open Indo-Pacific : While the first iteration of the Quad grouping in 2005-2009, formed in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami, focused on friendly maritime exercises and HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief), its reprise in 2017 has focused much more on the threat to the Indo-Pacific maritime sphere, mainly from unilateral actions by China on the South China Sea and other disputes.
Connectivity and infrastructure projects : The 2017 Quad meetings of officials followed that of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the grouping was seen as an economic challenge to China as well, as Quad statements promised joint connectivity projects and transparent infrastructure funding for countries in the region in danger of being “debt-trapped”. The Donald Trump administration also launched its “Blue Dot Network” (BDN) as a way to grade project sustainability. However, these efforts have lost salience, given that joint projects such as the India-Japan MoU for the East Container Terminal in Colombo port was scrapped by Sri Lanka, differences between Australia and Japan, with India over joining the Asian economic trade agreement RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership), and the change in U.S. government has meant BDN plans are moving more slowly.
Countering COVID-19 : The Quad summit this week will be watched closely for a possible endorsement of the India-South Africa proposal at the WTO for patent waivers for COVID-19 medicines and vaccines.
Critical technologies and resilient supply chains : This will involve discussions on ensuring consensus on what kind of 5G networks the Quad countries will promote, on data security and free flow, as well as on building supply chains that have been destroyed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, as countries withheld crucial material needed by others due to shortages within.
Climate change : The U.S. will be keen to see some commitments coming out of the Quad summit, ahead of the next U.N. Climate Change Conference, COP 26, in Glasgow in November. It also remains to be seen whether the U.S. signs on to the India and France-led International Solar Alliance (ISA), which Japan and Australia have ratified during the summit.
AUKUS, France and Quad expansion: While the Australia-U.K.-U.S. trilateral pact announced on September 16 to develop nuclear-powered submarines, is not expected to be on the formal agenda of the Quad summit this week, it has already overshadowed the event, and an expected bilateral between Mr. Biden and Mr. Morrison with a formal signing of the defence pact just a day before the summit is likely to be a major highlight. India has made no statement on the AUKUS pact for a number of reasons.
Kamala Harris meeting Modi is 'coming of age' moment for Indian diaspora, says her home state newspaper
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House on Thursday afternoon is a “coming of age” moment for the Indian diaspora, a prominent U.S. newspaper in her home state has said on the eve of the historic meeting between the two leaders.
This would be her first meeting with Mr. Modi, 71, whose government has not only championed the cause of the diaspora but also never been shy of speaking about their interest globally. The Prime Minister himself actively engages with the diaspora in all his overseas trips.
“It (Modi-Harris meeting) does represent a ‘coming of age’ moment for the diaspora, which is now more than 4 million strong,” Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the California-based newspaper.
“The meeting between the leaders comes as the Biden administration moves closer to India and other Asian and Pacific nations, continuing the Trump administration’s focus on responding to China’s growing power by building America’s economic and military ties in the region,” the daily reported.
- PTI
PM Modi's schedule in the U.S.
On Thursday, Mr Modi is scheduled to meet first with the CEOs of five companies that have invested in India or have significant investment potential: semiconductor and wireless technology manufacturer Qualcomm, renewable energy company First Solar, software company Adobe, energy systems and arms manufacturer General Atomics and investment management company, the Blackstone Group.
He will also have three bilateral meetings : first with Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia, then with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and finally with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan.
On Friday, he will have bilateral talks with U.S. President Joe Biden and a Quad summit with Mr Biden, Mr Suga and Mr Morrison. China, Pakistan, Myanmar and Afghanistan are expected to feature in these talks.
Mr Modi will head to New York on Friday evening and address the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday morning before heading back to India. India’s experience with COVID-19, vaccinations, counter-terrorism and reform of the UN are likely to come up in Mr Modi’s UN address. - Sriram Lakshman
Modi to meet U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, hold bilaterals with Japanese and Australian PMs on Thursday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday is scheduled to have as many as eight meetings, including with Vice President Kamala Harris, on the first working day of his current U.S. trip.
Apart from meeting Ms. Harris at the White House, the Prime minister will have two bilateral meetings with his Australian and Japanese counterparts — Scott Morrison and Yoshihide Suga.
- PTI
Modi to interact with global CEOs to highlight opportunities in India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he would highlight economic opportunities in India during his meetings with CEOs here.
On Thursday, the Prime Minister is scheduled to hold one-o-one meetings with top five American CEOs.
Two of them are Indian Americans — Shantanu Narayen from Adobe and Vivek Lall from General Atomics. The three others being Cristiano E Amon from Qualcomm, Mark Widmar from First Solar, and Stephen A Schwarzman from Blackstone.
Indian diaspora has distinguished itself across the world, says Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has commended Indian Diaspora for distinguishing itself across the world as he received a warm welcome from the community on his arrival here.
He was greeted by groups of Indian Americans at the airport soon after his plane landed here Wednesday and later at the hotel where he had an interaction with the members of the community.
“Grateful to the Indian community in Washington DC for the warm welcome. Our diaspora is our strength,” Mr. Modi said in a tweet along with a set of pictures of his interaction with the Indian American CEOs.
“It is commendable how the Indian diaspora has distinguished itself across the world,” Mr. Modi said.
PM Modi arrives in US to attend Quad leaders' summit, address UNGA
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Wednesday on an official visit to the US during which he will hold the first face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris, attend the maiden in-person Quad summit and address the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
President Biden will host Mr. Modi at the White House for their first bilateral meeting on September 24. Later on that day, Mr. Biden will host the first-ever in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit with Mr. Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Vice President Harris will meet Prime Minister Modi on September 23. This will be the first meeting between the two leaders. Ms. Harris had earlier spoken with Mr. Modi over the phone in June during the COVID-19 crisis.
— PTI
