Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit for the Quad summit emphasises several important aspects, including bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral, and added that the agenda of the summit includes development of the Indo-Pacific region and implementation of Sustainable Development Goals.
Mr Misri’s remarks came during a briefing by the Ministry of External Affairs on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States for the upcoming Quad summit.
Elaborating on the engagements of Prime Minister Modi in the US during his visit, Mr Misri said, “Prime Minister Modi will be visiting the US from 21-23 September. This visit involves many important aspects. The bilateral aspects are very important, the multilateral aspects are very important and the plurilateral aspects are equally important. There will be interactions with various foreign partners at the Prime Minister’s level. There will be interactions with the large Indian community in the US. Apart from that, there will be interactions with many business and industry leaders as well.”
He said, “The Prime Minister’s first talks will be in Wilmington, Delaware, the hometown of President Joe Biden. It is also the venue of the sixth Quad summit…”
Mr Misri further informed that from Wilmington, the Prime Minister will travel to New York where he will attend the Future Summit. He said, “He (Prime Minister Modi) will have several engagements in these three days. On September 21, there will be the Quad Summit; there will be bilateral meetings during the Quad Summit. A special event during the Quad Summit will be the Cancer Moonshot event. On September 22, the Prime Minister will interact with the Indian community. This is being organised by the community in Long Island, New York…”
Speaking on the objective of the Cancer Moonshot initiative, Mr Misri said, “Through the Cancer Moonshot initiative, the Quad aims to implement innovative strategies to prevent, detect, treat and reduce the impact of cancer on patients and their families, and first and foremost, we want to collaborate to reduce the burden of cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific region.”
The foreign secretary also said that PM Modi will meet several tech CEOs during his three-day visit. “There will be a technology roundtable with several tech CEOs, which will give us an opportunity to discuss the tech investment landscape and the opportunities available here,” Misri said. “There will be several other meetings with stakeholders and bilateral meetings with heads of states,” he added.
“On September 23, the Prime Minister will address the Future Summit at the United Nations General Assembly. Some more bilateral meetings are also being scheduled on that day,” Mr Misri said.
Elaborating on the agenda of the Quad, Mr Misri said that the constructive agenda of the Quad is to “develop the Indo-Pacific, implement the Sustainable Development Goals, deliver public goods, and have a strong focus on peace, prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region”.
“Our agenda includes health security, climate change, critical and emerging technologies, HADR, connectivity, maritime security and counter-terrorism measures,” he said.
The Foreign Secretary also said that the upcoming visit will provide an opportunity for the Quad leaders to review the progress achieved over the past year and set the agenda for the next year.
Elaborating on the bilateral meetings with President Biden, Mr Misri said India and the US will exchange agreements. “In the bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden, there will be an opportunity for the two sides to exchange some agreements – framework agreements related to the Indo-Pacific economy, and the India-US pharmaceutical framework,” Mr Misri said.
On the possibility of meeting former US President Donald Trump, Misri said, “There are several meetings with the Prime Minister that we are trying to finalise. Right now I will not be able to tell you about any specific meeting, whether a meeting has been finalised or not. We are looking at all angles as to how much time we have and whom we can meet. We will keep you updated about the meetings.”
It is noteworthy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a visit to America from 21 to 23 September, during which he will attend the Quad Summit and address the ‘Summit of the Future’ at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
PM Modi will attend the fourth Quad Leaders Summit in Wilmington, Delaware on September 21, which is being hosted by US President Joe Biden. Following the request from the US side to host the Quad Summit this year, India has agreed to host the next Quad Summit in 2025.
A release from the Ministry of External Affairs said that at the Quad Summit, the leaders will review the progress achieved by the Quad over the past year and set the agenda for the coming year to assist countries in the Indo-Pacific region meet their development goals and aspirations.
PM Modi will address the ‘Summit of the Future’ at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23. The theme of the summit is ‘Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow’.
The Quad is a diplomatic partnership between four countries – Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. It is worth noting that the Quad foreign ministers have met eight times in recent years and the Quad governments continue to meet and coordinate at all levels.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
