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Modi, Biden consolidate India and US friendship to further ‘global good’
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden have praised the "close and enduring" partnership between the two countries.
Prime 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”.
According to a joint statement issued at the end of a Friday evening bilateral meeting, symbolising that both sides were committed to consolidating ties, Biden and Modi also agreed to resolve the only outstanding trade dispute between the two countries at the World Trade Organisation. They deepened defence ties by exchanging notes on progress, with the US Congress not objecting to the GE jet engine deal and India issuing its letter of request (LOR) for the MQ-9B Predator drones. They intensified cooperation in various domains under the initiative on critical and emerging technologies (iCET), particularly telecom networks, semiconductors, and space. The two countries also announced specific new initiatives on health and education partnership. And Modi said he looked forward to welcoming Biden for the Quad summit in India next year, reinforcing the buzz that Biden may be the chief guest for the Republic Day event. If the idea was to convey that the two sides had moved with alacrity on the June bilateral, there was enough in the statement to suggest that this was indeed the case.
Right after Biden arrived in New Delhi on Friday evening, he drove down to the PM’s residence in Lok Kalyan Marg. The two leaders met for an hour and ten minutes.
After the meeting, Modi tweeted, “Our meeting was very productive. We were able to discuss numerous topics which will further economic and people-to-people linkages between India and USA. 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 was accompanied by secretary of state Antony J Blinken,Treasury secretary Janet Yellen, national security advisor Jake Sullivan, US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti and senior officials of National Security Council, Kurt Campbell and Eileen Laubacher. Modi’s delegation included external affairs minister S Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval, principal secretary PK Mishra, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra, and joint secretaries in the PM’s office Deepak Mittal and Hiren Joshi.
The two countries issued their second joint statement in less than three months, which is unusual in the world of high diplomacy. It illuminated the speed of implementation of agreements and new benchmarks set for the future. And the conversation, those familiar with the contours of the meeting said, was candid and marked by trust.
On G20, Biden, according to the statement, lauded India’s leadership, and both leaders expressed the confidence that the outcomes this weekend at the summit will accelerate progress on common challenges, including reform of multilateral development banks.
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”. This is an indication that Biden may visit India before next year’s general elections, the first time a US President will visit India twice in his first term in history. Biden also reiterated the American support for India’s quest for a permanent UN Security Council seat, and more specifically, its bid for a non-permanent member seat in 2028-29.
On the defence front, both leaders “welcomed completion of the Congressional Notification process on 29 August 2023 and the commencement of negotiations for a commercial agreement between GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) to manufacture GE F-414 jet engines in India”. HT had first reported that the Congressional green signal for the deal was through. Biden also welcomed the issuance of a LOR from India’s defence ministry to procure 31 General Atomics MQ-9B (16 Sky Guardian and 15 Sea Guardian) drones.
Biden and Modi also hailed the conclusion of a second Master Ship Repair Agreement, with the most recent agreement signed by the US Navy and Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. in August 2023. “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.
In the field of energy and climate, the two welcomed the inaugural meeting of the India-US Renewable Energy Technologies Action Platform. This will enable “lab-to-lab collaboration, piloting, and testing of innovative technologies; collaboration on policy and planning to advance renewable energy and enabling technologies; investment, incubation and outreach programmes; and training and skill development to accelerate the uptake and adoption of new and emerging renewable technologies and energy systems”. India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and the US Development Finance Corporation have also exchanged letters of intent to each provide up to US$500 million to anchor a renewable infrastructure investment fund, besides the two countries reiterating their agreement to support the decarbonisation of India’s transport sector.
Biden and Modi also, building on their agreement in June, welcomed bilateral cooperation in cancer research, prevention, control, and management, and looked forward to the launch of the India-US Cancer Dialogue in November 2023. In addition, the US-India Health Dialogue, taking place in October 2023 in Washington DC.
Those familiar with the intricacies of the relationship suggest that the fact that India and the US, on the sidelines of a major multilateral summit, could come up with a substantial bilateral document outlining progress and charting the path forward across domains was a sign of the consistency and the commitment in both countries vis a vis the relationship.
