By PTI
TOKYO: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden on Tuesday vowed to work together for a more prosperous, free and secure world while committing to deepen India-US defence and economic engagements.
In his meeting with Biden on the sidelines of the Quad summit, Modi said the strategic relationship between India and the US is truly a “partnership of trust” and the friendship will continue to be a “force for good” for global peace and stability.
A White House readout said Biden condemned Russia’s “unjustifiable war” against Ukraine and that the leaders discussed how to cooperate to manage disruptions caused by the war, especially the rise in energy and food prices to protect their respective citizens and the world.
It said the two leaders committed to deepening the “major defence partnership”, encouraging economic engagement that benefits both countries, and expanding the partnership on global health, pandemic preparedness, and critical and emerging technologies.
It said they looked forward to enhancing partnership to accelerate India’s just energy transition, including through the US-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership, especially in the areas of renewables deployment, decarbonising the energy and industrial sectors, zero-emissions vehicles and mobilising related investment in India.
“President Biden condemned Russia’s unjustifiable war against Ukraine. The leaders committed to continue providing humanitarian assistance, and discussed how to cooperate to manage disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine, in particular the rise in energy and food prices, to protect their respective citizens and the world,” the White House said.
The two countries are renewing the Indo-US Vaccine Action Program, which since its establishment has yielded several “success stories” towards the discovery, development, and manufacture of India’s first indigenous and low-cost vaccines to address rotavirus and COVID-19, it said.
The two countries announced India’s joining the Combined Military Forces-Bahrain as an associate member.
“The leaders welcomed the launch of a United States-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), spearheaded by the National Security Councils of the two countries to expand partnership in critical and emerging technologies,” the US readout said.
It said the US plans to join six of India’s Technology Innovation Hubs to support at least 25 joint research projects in 2022 in areas such as artificial intelligence and data science to advance progress in applications such as agriculture, health and climate.
“Recognising the fundamental role maritime domain awareness plays in preserving economic security and in responding to humanitarian crises, the leaders noted with pleasure the establishment of the Indo-Pacific partnership for maritime domain awareness,” it said.
In a tweet, Modi described the meeting as productive. “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,” he said.
In his televised remarks, Modi said the two countries have shared values and common interests in many areas, including security, and they have strengthened the bonds of trust.
“I am sure that the India-USA Investment Incentive Agreement between us will see concrete progress in the direction of investment. We are increasing our bilateral cooperation in the field of technology, and also strengthening mutual coordination on global issues,” Modi said.
The prime minister said both the US and India share the same vision about the Indo-Pacific region and are working to safeguard the shared values and common interests not only at the bilateral level but also with other like-minded countries.
“Quad and IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity) announced yesterday are active examples of this. Today our discussion will give more momentum to this positive momentum,” he said.
“I am confident that the friendship of India and America will continue to be a force for good for global peace and stability, for the sustainability of the planet, and for the well-being of mankind,” Modi said.
Both leaders shared their views on a wide range of issues and discussed ways to deepen the India-USA friendship, the prime minister’s office said.
In line with Washington’s long-term vision for the region, Biden on Monday launched the ambitious Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), which is an initiative aimed at deeper cooperation among like-minded countries in areas like clean energy, supply-chain resilience and digital trade.
“Advancing India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership 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,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
The two leaders discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, technology, defence, people-to-people ties between the two countries. “Concluded with substantive outcomes adding depth and momentum to the bilateral partnership,” he said.
