‘Stronger, closer, more dynamic’: Biden on US-India relationship after meeting with Modi

Modi said in a post on X, “I thank President Biden for hosting me at his residence in Greenville, Delaware. Our talks were extremely fruitful. We had the opportunity to discuss regional and global issues during the meeting.”

The statement said that Modi warmly recalled his State visit to the USA in June 2023 and President Biden’s visit to India in September 2023 for the G-20 Leaders’ Summit. He “noted that the visits have imparted greater dynamism and depth to the India-US partnership”.

The MEA statement said that the two leaders discussed ways to further enhance bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest and exchanged views on global and regional issues, including the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. “They expressed confidence in the strength and continuing resilience of the relationship and their belief in its significance for all areas of human endeavor between the two countries,” it said.

Biden welcomed Modi on the margins and ahead of the 6th Quad summit.

After the meeting that lasted about an hour, Biden said, “The United States’ partnership with India is stronger, closer, and more dynamic than any time in history. Prime Minister Modi, each time we sit down, I’m struck by our ability to find new areas of cooperation. Today was no different.”

This was the eighth time the two have met in person in the last four years and Saturday’s meeting is seen as Biden’s “farewell” Quad as US President.

Modi, who is in Delaware as part of his three-day visit to the United States, will also hold separate bilateral meetings with Japan PM Fumio Kishida and Australian PM Anthony Albanese.

The Prime Minister is accompanied by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Ambassador of India to US Vinay Mohan Kwatra.

NSA Ajit Doval, usually part of the official delegation, is not accompanying the PM. Sources said that the Jammu & Kashmir elections and domestic commitments have kept him back. Days ago, a US court had issued summons to NSA Doval, among other top intelligence officials, after pro-Khalistan separatist figure Gurupatwant Singh Pannun filed a civil lawsuit seeking damages for an alleged plot to assassinate him in the US last year. India has reacted sharply to the charges, with Misri describing them as “completely unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations”.

The US team included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs T H Jake Sullivan and Ambassador of the US to India Eric Garcetti.

This is the third US President Modi has interacted with in office, since he won in 2014 – Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump being the other two.

The Modi-Biden bilateral will be watched by many as the two leaders take stock of the state of the relationship that has faced challenges in the last year over the alleged assassination plot.

However, convergences far outweigh the differences: the strategic alignment has deepened, there is a growing and shared concern about an aggressive Beijing, access to technology and capital, and the US is emerging as the most favoured destination for Indian youth for education, jobs and innovation.

Modi’s three-day visit is set to encapsulate all these elements: bilateral (with meetings with President); multilateral (Quad leaders’ summit); Indian diaspora outreach (event at Nassau County, Long Island near New York City); and a forum to discuss the ideas of the future and the next generation (the Summit of the Future at the UN).

As Biden signs off as President in January, the US is in the middle of a closely contested US election with Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump facing off.

Meetings with both Harris, Democratic Presidential candidate, and Trump, the Republican Presidential candidate, are still “work in progress”, given that both are campaigning outside New York and Delaware — the two places where Modi is travelling.

After the Quad summit, Modi will travel to New York for the Indian diaspora event on September 22. Modi said he was eagerly looking forward to engaging with the Indian diaspora and important US business leaders, “the key stakeholders (who) provide vibrancy to the unique partnership between the largest and the oldest democracies of the world”.

This event will be held at Nassau County where the T20 Cricket world cup was held early this year.

On September 23, Modi will address the Summit of the Future at the UN headquarters in New York. He returns on September 24.