PM Modi, US President Joe Biden To Hold Bilateral Meeting At White House On September 24

As the UNGA 2021 debate week has commenced today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to travel to the United States this week. US President Joe Biden will be hosting PM Modi for a bilateral meeting at the White House on September 24, as per US officials.

The two leaders are conducting this meeting to further strengthen the relations between India and the US. This will be PM Modi’s first physical meeting with Joe Biden after he was elected as the President of the United States in 2019. PM Modi will also be meeting VP Kamala Harris on September 23, as per sources.

A statement from the White House said, “The President will participate in a bilateral meeting with Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India.” PM Modi is visiting the United States this week to be a part of the first-ever Quad leaders meeting and the UN General Assembly debate week.

In the upcoming days, US President Joe Biden will host the first-ever in-person Quad Leaders Summit at the White House. The attendees of the summit include PM Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

According to the official statement of the Ministry of External Affairs, the Quad Summit scheduled for this week will focus on deepening ties and “advancing practical cooperation in areas such as COVID-19, addressing the climate crisis, partnering on emerging technologies and cyberspace, and promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

PM Modi and Joe Biden have interacted with each other multiple times virtually, ever since the latter was elected the President of the United States. The last telephonic conversation between the two leaders was conducted on April 26 of this year.

The UN General Assembly debate week has also kicked off from today, September 21, and will be attended by several world leaders, including PM Modi. This will mark PM Modi’s first overseas visit in the past six months, as the second wave of the COVID pandemic hit the country in April this year.