PM Modi-Biden meeting will be continuation of earlier interactions: Indian envoy

The Indian ambassador to the US said that the two countries were frequently interacting during Biden’s first 100 days of presidency despite the pandemic and other limitations.

US President Joe Biden has taken initiative to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a bilateral meeting even as both countries are still under pressure of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the Indian ambassador to the United States said on Wednesday. In 2014, Biden had hosted PM Modi for lunch when the former was the deputy of then-President Barack Obama. The two leaders also met in 2016 when the prime minister addressed the US Congress which was presided over by Biden.

Indian ambassador to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu. (ANI File Photo)

“You'll recall that there have been 3 direct phone calls between 2 of them, there are 2 major summits,” ANI quoted Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu as saying. “So, it's a continuation of that interaction.”

The Indian envoy said that the two countries were frequently interacting during Biden’s first 100 days of presidency despite the pandemic and other limitations. He also pointed to the US visit by external affairs minister S Jaishankar and foreign secretary to highlight the intense interactions between the two countries over the months.

“So, the intensity of interaction has increased as also the content,” Sandhu added.

On Wednesday, PM Modi departed from New Delhi for his much-awaited visit to the US that will have six broad elements, including bilateral meeting with Biden, in-person Quad Summit, and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) address. He is expected to hold separate meetings with industry leaders including CEOs of Qualcomm, Adobe, First Solar, General Atomics and Blackstone.