Hummingbird News Desk
NEW DELHI, 24 MAY: US President Joseph R Biden today told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he was committed to making the Indo-US partnership “among the closest we have on earth” as the two leaders launched an India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) to facilitate outcome-oriented cooperation and extended the longstanding Vaccine Action Programme (VAP) until 2027.
“Mr Prime Minister, there is so much that our countries can and will do together. I’m committed to making the US-India partnership among the closest we have on earth.” “I’m pleased that we’ve reached an agreement for US Development Finance Corporation to continue the important work in India, supporting vaccine production, and clean energy initiatives. I’m glad we’re renewing the Indo-US Vaccine Action Program,” President Biden said.
Meeting on the margins of the Quad Summit in Tokyo, the two leaders discussed a range of bilateral issues as well as global developments. They exchanged views on regional issues of mutual interest including South Asia and the Indo-Pacific region, reaffirming their shared vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
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 2022.
The India-US Comprehensive Strategic Global Partnership is underpinned by a shared commitment to democratic values, rule of law, and a commitment to uphold rules based international order. The leaders expressed happiness with progress made across sectors in the bilateral agenda.
The two leaders welcomed the signing of the Investment Incentive Agreement which 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.
In a readout on the meeting, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) did not clarify if the war in Ukraine also figured prominently during the meeting. Biden, however, did say in his opening remarks that the two countries would continue to consult closely on how to mitigate the negative effects of the Russia-Ukraine war on the world order. Modi, lauding the strategic partnership with the US as one of trust in “the true sense”, said “Our common interests and values have strengthened this bond of trust between our two countries.”
Noting that defence and security cooperation is a crucial pillar of the India-US bilateral agenda, both sides discussed how they can further strengthen collaboration. In this context Prime Minister 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.
Taking forward their growing collaboration in the health sector, India and 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.
To bolster the strong people to people linkages between the two countries, Prime Minister called for strengthening higher education collaborations which can be of mutual benefit.
The leaders 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 welcomed the launch of 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 agreed to continue their useful dialogue and pursue their shared vision of taking the India-US partnership to a higher level.
Tags: #NarendraModi #JosephBiden #IPEF #iCET #VAP #QuadSummit #Tokyo #HummingbirdNews
