Biden praises Modi’s visit to Ukraine, message of peace

 

US PRESIDENT Joe Biden commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic visit to Ukraine last month and his message of peace, as the two leaders held wide-ranging talks that figured pressing global challenges including the situation in the war-ravaged country. The US President hosted Modi at his personal home in Wilmington, Delaware after the Prime Minister arrived in the US on a three-day visit. At a media briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, while answering a question on defusing the Ukraine crisis, said “very important” conversations are underway with multiple people on all sides of the conflict. In the talks, Biden conveyed to the Indian Prime Minister that the US supports initiatives to reform global institutions to reflect India’s important voice, including permanent membership for New Delhi in a reformed UN Security Council, according to a joint fact-sheet on the meeting. Though the Modi-Biden talks primarily focused on bilateral ties, the two leaders also touched upon key global challenges including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the situation in the Indo-Pacific that has witnessed increasing Chinese muscle-flexing.

 

The fact-sheet said President Biden expressed his “immense appreciation” for India’s leading role on the world stage, particularly Modi’s leadership in the G20 and in the Global South and his commitment to strengthen the Quad to ensure a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific. It said India is at the forefront of efforts to seek solutions to the most pressing challenges, from supporting the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic to addressing the devastating consequences of conflicts around the world. “President Biden commended Prime Minister Modi for his historic visits to Poland and Ukraine, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in decades, and for his message of peace and ongoing humanitarian support for Ukraine, including its energy sector, and on the importance of international law, including the UN charter,” it said. It is understood that Modi briefed Biden on his visits to Moscow in July and to Kyiv last month. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, when asked at a media briefing on the extent of discussion on the Russia-Ukraine conflict between the two leaders and whether the Indian side mentioned any kind of peace proposal, only said New Delhi is involved in a set of negotiations. “I want to again underline that we are involved in a set of ongoing conversations with interlocutors on all sides,” he said.

 

“It is, obviously, people see value in India’s engagement in these conversations and we are able to talk to multiple interlocutors, and this is not something that is going to have an outcome in the present stage because there is still quite a bit of work that remains to be done,” he added. “As and when there is something in the nature of what you have suggested, we will come back to you, but at the moment, these are very important conversations that are going on with multiple people on all sides of this conflict,” Misri said. The $1 billion India-US initiative to build a safe and secure global clean energy supply chain aims to capture the benefits of the clean energy transition, including the creation of high-quality jobs, acceleration of clean energy deployment and achievement of global climate goals, the Government said on Sunday.

 

The funding will support supply-side manufacturing capacity expansion for key technology verticals, focusing on solar, wind, battery, energy grid systems, and high-efficiency air conditioner and ceiling fan supply chains. “As an important aspect of our economic growth agendas, we are committed to working together to capture the benefits of the clean energy transition,” said the Government after the meeting between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the sixth Quad Leaders’ Summit in Wilmington, Delaware. Both the countries aim to expand manufacturing capacity for clean energy technologies and components and lay the groundwork for enhanced cooperation in third countries, with a focus on partnerships in Africa. The Prime Minister said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally for a peaceful resolution of the crisis. In their meeting, Modi and Biden reaffirmed their support for the freedom of navigation and the protection of commerce, including critical maritime routes in the Middle East where India will assume co-lead in 2025 of the Combined Task Force 150 to work with Combined Maritime Forces to secure sea lanes in the Arabian Sea, the document said.

 

The leaders voiced their view that a closer US-India partnership is vital to the success of efforts to build a cleaner, inclusive, more secure, and more prosperous future for the planet, it added. Modi and Biden also deliberated on ways to further bolster India-US cooperation in areas of semiconductors, clean energy and defence. “President Biden and Prime Minister Modi hailed a watershed arrangement to establish a new semiconductor fabrication plant focused on advanced sensing, communication, and power electronics for national security, next-generation telecommunications, and green energy applications,” the fact-sheet said.

 

“The fab, which will be established with the objective of manufacturing infrared, gallium nitride and silicon carbide semiconductors, will be enabled by support from the India Semiconductor Mission as well as a strategic technology partnership between Bharat Semi, 3rdiTech, and the US Space Force,” it said. It said the leaders praised combined efforts to facilitate resilient, secure, and sustainable semiconductor supply chains including through GlobalFoundries’ (GF) creation of the GF Kolkata Power Center. They noted GF’s plans to explore longer term, cross-border manufacturing and technology partnerships with India which will deliver high-quality jobs in both of our countries, it said. They also celebrated the new strategic partnership between the US Department of State and the India Semiconductor Mission, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in connection with the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund. The Prime Minister and the US President welcomed steps to build safe, secure, and resilient supply chains for the US, Indian, and international automotive markets, including through Ford Motor Company’s submission of a Letter of Intent to utilise its Chennai plant to manufacture for export to global markets. 

 

 

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi has said that the Quad is not against anyone, but for a rules-based international order and respect for sovereignty, in a veiled reference to China. “Free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific is our priority,” Modi said in his opening remarks at the summit. “We are not against anyone. We all support a rules-based international order, respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and peaceful resolution of all issues,” Modi said, without naming any country.

 

“Our message is clear -- Quad is here to stay, to assist, to partner and to complement,” Modi said. He said that the Quad leaders have gathered at a time when the world is surrounded by tensions and conflicts. “At such a time, the working together of Quad with its democratic values is significant for the entire human race,” the Prime Minister said. During the Quad Leaders’ Cancer Moonshot event, Modi announced the dedication of a grant of USD 7.5 million to cancer testing, screening and diagnostics in the Indo-Pacific region.

 

The Quad Cancer Moonshot is a ‘groundbreaking partnership’ to save lives in the Indo-Pacific region by combating cervical cancer. “India is ready to share its experience and expertise,” Modi said in his remarks, asserting that the grant was made under India’s vision of ‘One Earth, One Heath’. He added that India will also provide assistance in radiotherapy treatment and capacity building.