Joe Biden hosts PM Narendra Modi at home: ‘Ties closer, more dynamic than ever’

With Biden’s statesmanlike word acceptable to conclude, the gathering astatine his location successful Delaware, connected the sidelines of the Quad summit, was a farewell of sorts arsenic well. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Modi conveyed his appreciation for the “unparalleled contributions” made by Biden successful “giving impetus to the India-US partnership”. He besides recalled his sojourn to the US successful June 2023 and Biden’s sojourn to India successful September 2023 for the G-20 Leaders’ Summit, which “imparted greater dynamism and depth” to the partnership.

“I convey President Biden for hosting maine astatine his residence successful Greenville, Delaware. Our talks were highly fruitful. We had the accidental to sermon determination and planetary issues during the meeting,” Modi posted connected X.

The US President, meanwhile, “commended Modi for his historical visits to Poland and Ukraine, the archetypal by an Indian Prime Minister successful decades, and for his connection of bid and ongoing humanitarian enactment for Ukraine, including its vigor sector, and connected the value of planetary law”. They had spoken implicit the telephone past period aft Modi’s sojourn to Kyiv.

According to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, India is “involved successful a acceptable of ongoing conversations with interlocutors connected each sides” regarding a bid connection for Ukraine. He said that “people spot worth successful India’s engagement successful these conversations… (but) determination is inactive rather a spot of enactment that remains to beryllium done”.

On determination issues, the Foreign Secretary confirmed that “there was an speech of views with respect to the situation” successful Bangladesh. Modi and Biden had spoken astir the concern of minorities, including Hindus, successful Bangladesh implicit the telephone past month.

On tensions successful West Asia, Misri said the “leaders reaffirmed their enactment for the state of navigation and the extortion of commerce, including captious maritime routes successful the Middle East wherever India volition presume co-lead successful 2025 of the Combined Task Force 150 to enactment with Combined Maritime Forces to unafraid oversea lanes successful the Arabian Sea.”

While the bilateral gathering did item each the convergences, the divergence lingered successful the inheritance with allegations of an assassination crippled against pro-Khalistan separatist figure, Gurupatwant Singh Pannun, casting a shadow. The information that a radical of Sikh activists and separatists were astatine the White House for the archetypal time, connected the eve of the Prime Minister’s visit, was a awesome to Delhi.

The astir notable interaction was the lack of NSA Ajit Doval from the authoritative delegation. This time, the Prime Minister was accompanied by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Ambassador of India to US Vinay Mohan Kwatra. Sources said the Jammu & Kashmir elections and home commitments had kept NSA Doval backmost successful India.

Incidentally, Doval was among those who was issued summons past week by a US tribunal aft Pannun filed a civilian suit seeking damages for the alleged crippled to assassinate him successful the US past year. India had described the charges arsenic “completely unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations”. Local media reported that pro-Khalistan protestors could beryllium seen on the way of the Prime Minister’s motorcade.

Meanwhile, the cardinal takeaways from the Modi-Biden meeting, according to a information sheet, included:

* An statement to found a caller semiconductor fabrication works focused connected precocious sensing, communication, and powerfulness electronics for nationalist security, adjacent procreation telecommunications, and greenish vigor applications. The fab, which volition beryllium established with the nonsubjective of manufacturing infrared, gallium nitride and silicon carbide semiconductors, volition beryllium enabled by enactment from the India Semiconductor Mission arsenic good arsenic a strategical exertion concern betwixt Bharat Semi, 3rdiTech, and the US Space Force.

* Creation of the GF Kolkata Power Center that volition heighten mutually beneficial linkages successful probe and improvement successful spot manufacturing and alteration game-changing advances for zero and debased emanation arsenic good arsenic connected vehicles, net of things devices, AI, and information centers.

* Progress successful “first associated effort by NASA and ISRO to behaviour technological probe onboard the International Space Station successful 2025”.

* Progress successful India procuring 31 General Atomics MQ-9B (16 Sky Guardian and 15 Sea Guardian) remotely piloted craft and their equipment, which volition heighten the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities of equipped forces.

* Signing of Critical Minerals Memorandum of Understanding astatine the forthcoming US-India Commercial Dialogue, and hastening collaboration to unafraid resilient captious minerals proviso chains.

* Conclusion of Memorandum of Agreement regarding the deployment of liaison officers, and commencement of deployment of the archetypal liaison serviceman from India successful US Special Operations Command (SOCOM).

* Formal motorboat of the caller US-India Global Digital Development Partnership to bring unneurotic backstage assemblage companies, exertion and resources for emerging integer technologies successful Asia and Africa.

* Roadmap to physique harmless and unafraid planetary cleanable vigor proviso chains — grow manufacturing capableness of adjacent procreation star cells, upwind turbines, powerfulness transmission lines, artillery packs for 2-and 3-wheel electrical vehicles (EVs) and high-efficiency aerial conditioners.

The 2 sides besides “welcomed India’s signature and ratification of assorted agreements nether the overarching Agreement connected the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF)”. They signed the caller US-India Drug Policy Framework for the 21st Century, which volition deepen collaboration to disrupt the illicit accumulation and planetary trafficking of synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals, the information expanse said.

Capping years of enactment by experts, the 2 sides besides acknowledged the July 2024 signing of a bilateral Cultural Property Agreement that volition facilitate implementation of the 1970 Convention connected the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. In this context, the leaders welcomed the repatriation of 297 Indian antiquities from the US successful 2024.