Prime Minister Narendra Modi will land in Philadelphia around 10 am local time (7.30 pm IST) and then head to US President Joe Biden’s hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, where the two leaders will hold bilateral discussions. Apart from the relationship between the two countries, PM Modi’s visits to Russia and Ukraine and a possible peace process are also likely to be discussed.
An announcement may be made about the India-US space collaboration, under which Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will be travelling to the International Space Station as part of the Axiom-4 mission. A multi-billion dollar deal in which India plans to acquire 31 predator drones from the US will also be discussed, but it is not clear whether the announcement will happen during the PM’s visit.
After the bilateral, PM Modi will attend the Quad summit with Mr Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. White House Spokesperson John Kirby has said China will be high on the agenda. “In fact, it would be irresponsible if they didn’t talk about the challenges that still exist in the region caused by aggressive People’s Republic of China military action… for instance, unfair trade practices, tensions over the Taiwan Strait… I have no doubt that that all those issues will come up,” he has said.
On Day 2 of his visit, Prime Minister Modi will address a gathering of the Indian community in New York and interact with CEOs of leading companies. Collaboration in cutting-edge areas of artificial intelligence, quantum computing biotechnology and semiconductors will be discussed.
Day 3 will see the Prime Minister addressing 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’ and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called it a ‘once in a generation UN Summit’.
PM Modi is also likely to hold bilateral discussions with some other world leaders on the sidelines of the UN summit.
Former US president Donald Trump, locked in a close contest with Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the presidential polls in November, has said he will be meeting Prime Minister Modi, whom he called “a fantastic man”. The foreign ministry has not, however, confirmed that the meeting will take place.
In his departure statement, PM Modi said, “I look forward to joining my colleagues President Biden, Prime Minister Albanese and Prime Minister Kishida for the Quad Summit. The forum has emerged as a key group of like-minded countries to work for peace, progress and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.”
The PM said his bilateral with President Biden will allow the two leaders to identify new pathways to further deepen the India-US partnership. Stressing the importance of the UN summit, he said, “The Summit of the Future is an opportunity for the global community to chart the road ahead for the betterment of humanity. I will share the views of one-sixth of humanity as their stakes in a peaceful and secure future are among the highest in the world.”
The PM also said he was looking forward to engaging with the Indian community in the US as well as important American business leaders, who are “key stakeholders and provide vibrancy to the unique partnership between the largest and the oldest democracies of the world.”
