PM Narendra Modi’s bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden on Saturday will see substantive talks on carrying forward the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, including through exchange of agreements for formalization of India’s accession to 2 additional pillars – clean economy and fair economy - of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) and another related to the India-US dug framework.
While the Russia-Ukraine war is expected to figure prominently in the Modi-Biden engagement, and also the Quad meeting later in the day, in the outgoing president’s Wilmington hometown in Delaware, the Indian government remained non-committal on proposing any peace initiative of its own. Modi is expected to brief Biden in detail about his recent meetings with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukraine counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"Talks are ongoing between the leaders. As for putting forward any proposal, we'll have to see how much consensus is reached and whether we can reach a stage where a proposal can be put before a larger audience. So, I think we need to wait a little," said foreign secretary Vikram Misri, when asked if India will come up with a specific peace proposal either at the UN, where the PM will address the summit of the future, or in the engagements in Delaware. While seeking peace proactively, India has not budged from its original position that it won’t mediate directly or propose any peace formula of its own.
On the IPEF, Misri said India will be formally joining the additional pillars, while negotiations for India’s participation in the trade pillar continue. IPEF, which comprises 14 Indo-Pacific countries as members, aims to strengthen economic cooperation for advancing growth and prosperity in the region. It’s structured around 4 pillars – trade, supply chains, clean economy and fair economy in that order. India is yet to join the trade pillar. "We are joining pillars 3 and 4 and the overarching agreement, an administrative arrangement on how things will move forward. So, at the end of this exercise, we would have done 2, 3, 4 and the overarching agreement. Work and discussion on the trade pillar continue at this point in time," said Misri.
On the sidelines of the Quad summit , Modi will also have bilateral meetings with his Australia and Japan counterparts, Anthony Albanese and Fumio Kishida. Asked if he would meet former president Donald Trump or Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus at the UNGA in New York, Misri said meetings are still being scheduled, keeping in mind time available.
Modi will arrive on September 22 in New York, where he will participate in a technology roundtable with CEOs and also address an Indian diaspora event. On Monday, he will address the UN summit of the future, taking up Global South concerns about ongoing conflicts and calling for inclusive and equitable sustainable development.
"There is an obvious deficit of development in the world at large and the Global South is at the risk of being left behind on account of current developments. The world is also playing catch-up in so far as fulfilment of the very important Sustainable Development Goals is concerned. So, I would imagine that the Prime Minister's message and India's message will take many of these issues into consideration and highlight India's approaches on all of these issues," said the foreign secretary.
A "signature initiative" that will be unveiled by Quad in Delaware is the Cancer Moonshot, through which the grouping aims to implement innovative strategies to prevent, detect, treat, and alleviate the impact of cancer on patients and their families. "And to begin with, we intend to collaborate in reducing the burden of cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific region," said Misri. Apart from discussing the threat from China in the Indo-Pacific, the Quad meeting will focus on issues related to health security, climate change, critical and emerging technologies, HADR infrastructure, connectivity, maritime security and counter-terrorism.
While the Russia-Ukraine war is expected to figure prominently in the Modi-Biden engagement, and also the Quad meeting later in the day, in the outgoing president’s Wilmington hometown in Delaware, the Indian government remained non-committal on proposing any peace initiative of its own. Modi is expected to brief Biden in detail about his recent meetings with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukraine counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"Talks are ongoing between the leaders. As for putting forward any proposal, we'll have to see how much consensus is reached and whether we can reach a stage where a proposal can be put before a larger audience. So, I think we need to wait a little," said foreign secretary Vikram Misri, when asked if India will come up with a specific peace proposal either at the UN, where the PM will address the summit of the future, or in the engagements in Delaware. While seeking peace proactively, India has not budged from its original position that it won’t mediate directly or propose any peace formula of its own.
On the IPEF, Misri said India will be formally joining the additional pillars, while negotiations for India’s participation in the trade pillar continue. IPEF, which comprises 14 Indo-Pacific countries as members, aims to strengthen economic cooperation for advancing growth and prosperity in the region. It’s structured around 4 pillars – trade, supply chains, clean economy and fair economy in that order. India is yet to join the trade pillar. "We are joining pillars 3 and 4 and the overarching agreement, an administrative arrangement on how things will move forward. So, at the end of this exercise, we would have done 2, 3, 4 and the overarching agreement. Work and discussion on the trade pillar continue at this point in time," said Misri.
On the sidelines of the Quad summit , Modi will also have bilateral meetings with his Australia and Japan counterparts, Anthony Albanese and Fumio Kishida. Asked if he would meet former president Donald Trump or Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus at the UNGA in New York, Misri said meetings are still being scheduled, keeping in mind time available.
Modi will arrive on September 22 in New York, where he will participate in a technology roundtable with CEOs and also address an Indian diaspora event. On Monday, he will address the UN summit of the future, taking up Global South concerns about ongoing conflicts and calling for inclusive and equitable sustainable development.
"There is an obvious deficit of development in the world at large and the Global South is at the risk of being left behind on account of current developments. The world is also playing catch-up in so far as fulfilment of the very important Sustainable Development Goals is concerned. So, I would imagine that the Prime Minister's message and India's message will take many of these issues into consideration and highlight India's approaches on all of these issues," said the foreign secretary.
A "signature initiative" that will be unveiled by Quad in Delaware is the Cancer Moonshot, through which the grouping aims to implement innovative strategies to prevent, detect, treat, and alleviate the impact of cancer on patients and their families. "And to begin with, we intend to collaborate in reducing the burden of cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific region," said Misri. Apart from discussing the threat from China in the Indo-Pacific, the Quad meeting will focus on issues related to health security, climate change, critical and emerging technologies, HADR infrastructure, connectivity, maritime security and counter-terrorism.
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