(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – Noting that defence and security cooperation was a crucial pillar of the India-US bilateral agenda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden on Tuesday discussed how this collaboration could be further strengthened.
Meeting on the sidelines of the Quad Summit held in Tokyo, Japan, the two leaders also expressed happiness with progress made across sectors in the bilateral agenda.
“Had a productive meeting with @POTUS @JoeBiden. Today’s discussions were wide-ranging and covered multiple aspects of India-USA ties including trade, investment, defence as well as people-to-people linkages,” PM Modi tweeted.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi described the talks as warm and wide-ranging.
“Warm & wide-ranging talks held between PM @narendramodi and @POTUS @JoeBiden on bilateral, regional & global matters.
Leaders noted with satisfaction the frequency of bilateral dialogues and engagements across levels,” Bagchi tweeted.
In the context of defence and security cooperation, Prime Minister Modi invited the US industry to partner with India to manufacture in India under the Make in India and Aatma Nirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India programmes which can be of mutual benefit to both countries, the MEA said in a press release issued after the talks.
“The India-US Comprehensive Strategic Global Partnership is underpinned by a shared commitment to democratic values, rule of law, and a commitment to uphold a rules based international order. The Leaders expressed happiness with progress made across sectors in the bilateral agenda,” the MEA noted.
Taking forward their growing collaboration in the health sector, India and the USA extended the longstanding Vaccine Action Programme (VAP) until 2027 to continue joint biomedical research which had resulted in development of vaccines and related technologies.
Prime Minister Modi called for strengthening higher education collaborations which can be of mutual benefit to bolster the strong people to people linkages between the two countries.
According to the MEA, PM Modi and President Biden exchanged views on regional issues of mutual interest including South Asia and in the Indo-Pacific region, reaffirming their shared vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
Prime Minister Modi welcomed the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) and stated that India is ready to work closely with all partner countries to shape a flexible, and inclusive IPEF taking into consideration the respective national circumstances.
The two leaders also welcomed the signing of the Investment Incentive Agreement on Monday. This enables the US Development Finance Corporation to continue providing investment support in India in sectors of shared priority such as healthcare, renewable energy, SMEs, infrastructure etc.
During the meeting, both sides launched an India-U.S. Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) to facilitate outcome-oriented cooperation.
Co-led by the National Security Council Secretariat in India and the U.S. National Security Council, iCET would forge closer linkages between government, academia and industry of the two countries in areas such as AI, quantum computing, 5G/6G, biotech, space and semiconductors, the MEA said.
The meeting marks a continuation of the regular high-level dialogue between the two leaders who met in-person in September 2021 in Washington D.C and interacted at the G20 and COP26 Summits thereafter. Most recently they had a virtual interaction on 11 April 11 this year.
“The meeting resulted in substantive outcomes which will add depth and momentum to the bilateral partnership,” the MEA said.
The leaders agreed to continue their useful dialogue and pursue their shared vision of taking the India-US partnership to a higher level, the MEA added.
India News Network
