Philadelphia [US], September 21 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Philadelphia International Airport on Saturday morning (local time) on the first day of his three day visit to the United States.
Ahead of leaving India, PM Modi said in his departure statement that he looked forward to joining his colleagues - President Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for the Quad Summit. The forum has emerged as a key group of like-minded countries to work for peace, progress and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Prime Minister said that his meeting with President Biden will allow the two countries to review and identify new pathways to further deepen India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.
Just ahead of the Quad summit, PM Modi will engage in a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden. India and United States enjoy a comprehensive global strategic partnership covering almost all areas of human endeavour, driven by shared democratic values, convergence of interests on a range of issues, and vibrant people-to-people contacts.One of the key issues is India-US defence cooperation, which was renewed for ten years in 2015. In 2016, the defence relationship was designated as a Major Defence Partnership (MDP). On 30 July 2018, India was moved into the Tier-1 of the US Department of Commerce's Strategic Trade Authorization license exception. The US is also the largest trading partner of India with overall bilateral trade in goods and services of USD190.1 billion for calendar year 2023
Next on the PM's agenda will be the annual Quad summit to be held in Wilmington, Delware, the hometown of US President Joe Biden.The Sixth Quad summit brings together India, Australia, Japan, and the United States, with a commitment to work as a force for global good and to support an open, free, and inclusive Indo-Pacific that is prosperous and resilient. The summit is also critical for India as it will be hosting the next Summit.PM Modi will join US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday to discuss regional security and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.The last Quad Leaders' Summit, the fifth edition, was held in Hiroshima, Japan on May 20 last year. In addition to the Joint Statement, the "Quad Leaders' Vision Statement - Enduring Partners for the Indo-Pacific" was also released, outlining the Leaders' vision for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific, and upholding the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and peaceful resolution of disputes.
On September 22, PM Modi will address a community event of the Indian disapora at the Nassau Colliseum in Uniondale. About 4.4 million Indian Americans/Indian origin people reside in the US. Persons of Indian origin (3.18 million) constitute the third largest Asian ethnic group in the US.
Prime Minister Modi will also be attending a Business Roundtable with CEOs of leading US companies in the cutting-edge areas of Artificial Intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, and biotechnology.
From Wilmington, the Prime Minister will travel to New York to attend the Summit of the Future (SOTF) at the United Nations on September 23. The theme of the Summit is 'Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow'. SoTF is an important milestone in the history of UN as it enters the 80th year of its establishment in 2025. A Pact for the Future, with its two annexes Global Digital Compact and Declaration on Future Generations, will be the outcome document of the SoTF. The Summit is expected to witness participation of a number of world leaders. The Pact for the Future is seen by many in the Global South as an opportunity to highlight issues of importance in the areas of health, energy security issues, climate change, transform institutions of global governance and economic inequalities.