The meeting was held soon after US President Joe Biden arrived in New Delhi to participate in the G20 Summit to be chaired by Prime Minister Modi.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden Friday held bilateral talks in New Delhi ahead of the G20 Summit in the national capital. In their over 50-minute talks, PM Modi and President Biden vowed to “deepen and diversify” the bilateral major defence partnership while welcoming the forward movement in India’s procurement of 31 drones and joint development of jet engines.
Here are the key takeaways from the bilateral meeting between the two leaders:
US reaffirms support for India’s permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council
Following the meeting the White House issued an official statement which stated that the United States has reaffirmed its support for India’s bid for a permanent seat on the UNSC.
“Continuing to share the view that global governance must be more inclusive and representative, President Biden reaffirmed his support for a reformed UN Security Council with India as a permanent member, and, in this context, welcomed once again India’s candidature for the UNSC non-permanent seat in 2028-29,” an official statement issued by the White House stated.
It said that PM Modi and President Biden underscored the need to strengthen and reform the multilateral system.
“The leaders once again underscored the need to strengthen and reform the multilateral system so it may better reflect contemporary realities and remain committed to a comprehensive UN reform agenda, including through expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of membership of the UN Security Council,” the statement added.
Cooperation in civil nuclear technology, AI, 6G
Modi and Biden also deliberated on cooperation in nuclear energy, critical and emerging technologies such as 6G and artificial intelligence, and ways to fundamentally reshape multilateral development banks.
A joint statement issued at the end of the talks said President Biden lauded India’s G20 Presidency for further “demonstrating” how the G20 as a forum is delivering important outcomes.
His comments came a day before the leaders of the Group of 20 large economies are set to hold deliberations on pressing global challenges and ways to deal with them at the bloc’s annual summit in New Delhi.
The Jet Deal
As was expected, PM Modi and President Biden held deliberations on the procurement of American-made fighter jets, the deal for which was signed during PM Modi’s last bilateral visit to the US earlier this year.
According to a joint statement issued after the meeting, the US president welcomed the issuance of a Letter of Request from India’s defence ministry to procure 31 MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft from American defence giant General Atomics.
The two leaders also welcomed the completion of the Congressional notification process and the commencement of negotiations for a commercial agreement between GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture GE F-414 jet engines in India, it said.
They “recommitted” to work collaboratively and expeditiously to support the advancement of this unprecedented co-production and technology transfer proposal, the statement said.
Deepening India-US strategic ties via technology
Both leaders reaffirmed the defining role of technology in deepening the India-US strategic partnership. They lauded the ongoing efforts through the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) to build open, accessible, secure, and resilient technology ecosystems and value chains, based on mutual confidence and trust.
“The United States and India intend to undertake a midterm review of iCET in September 2023 to continue to drive momentum toward the next annual iCET review, co-led by the National Security Advisors of both countries, in early 2024,” the statement said.
US firms to invest $700 million for semiconductor R&D in India
Maid and Biden reiterated their support for building resilient global semiconductor supply chains, noting in this respect a multi-year initiative of Microchip Technology, Inc, to invest approximately USD 300 million in expanding its research and development presence in India.
The two leaders also called on their governments to continue the work on transforming the India-US strategic partnership across all dimensions and reiterated their support for building resilient global semiconductor supply chains.
They also referred to Advanced Micro Device’s announcement to invest USD 400 million in India over the next five years.
Bharat 6G Alliance and Next G Alliance MoU
The two leaders also welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Bharat 6G Alliance and Next G Alliance, operated by Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, as a first step towards deepening public-private cooperation between vendors and operators.
An open, free and resilient Indo-Pacific
Modi and Biden reaffirmed the importance of Quad in supporting a free, open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific.
PM Modi looked forward to welcoming President Biden to the next Quad leaders’ summit to be hosted by India in 2024, the statement said.
‘Hello Delhi’
US President Joe Biden arrived in New Delhi at around 7 pm on his first visit to India as the US president. He was greeted at the airport with songs and a musical show.
In a post on ‘X’, Modi said, “Happy to have welcomed @POTUS @JoeBiden to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. 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,” he added.
On his part, Biden said on ‘X’, “Hello, Delhi! It’s great to be in India for this year’s G20.”
(With PTI inputs)