PM meets US President Biden ahead of Quad summit

Wilmington (US), Sep 21 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met US President Joe Biden on the margins of the Quad summit here and the two leaders were expected to discuss a range of issues, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
    During the meeting at Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware, the two leaders would review and identify new pathways to further deepen India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.
    The war and Modi's recent visit to Ukraine is expected to figure prominently in the bilateral meeting, according to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
    Modi, who is here as part of his three-day visit to the United States, will also hold separate bilateral meetings with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida who are here for the Quad Summit.
    "My meeting with President Biden will allow us to review and identify new pathways to further deepen India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership for the benefit of our people and the global good," Modi had said in his departure statement in New Delhi.
    Modi was accompanied by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Ambassador of India to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra. 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.
    The annual Quad summit being hosted by President Biden in his hometown Wilmington is expected to roll a series of new initiatives to boost cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and explore ways to find peaceful solutions to the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
    The four-member Quad, or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, advocates upholding a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. Beijing sees it as an ant-China grouping.
    From Wilmington, Modi will travel to New York where he will attend an Indian community event at Long Island on September 22 and address the Summit of the Future at the UN General Assembly the next day.
    "I am eagerly looking forward to engaging with the Indian diaspora and important American business leaders, who are the key stakeholders and provide vibrancy to the unique partnership between the largest and the oldest democracies of the world," Modi said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)