PM Modi arrives in US, set to attend Quad Summit with President Joe Biden

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Philadelphia International Airport on Saturday for a three day trip to the US. The PM will hold bilateral meetings with President Joe Biden and other leaders as well as attending the Quad summit and addressing a key UN meeting.

“Today, I'll welcome Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese, Narendra Modi, and Fumio Kishida to my home: Delaware. These leaders aren't just essential to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific - they're friends of mine and friends of our nation. I look forward to all we'll accomplish in the Summit ahead,” Biden wrote on X ahead of their meeting.

The Quad summit is a key grouping of four like-minded countries that are working for peace, progress and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. The initiative was elevated by Biden after he entered office and the upcoming meeting will be the fourth in-person and sixth overall gathering of the leaders since 2021.

Modi will engage in a bilateral meeting with Biden ahead of the Summit in order to ‘further deepen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership’. The India-US defence cooperation — renewed for ten years in 2015 — is likely to be a key topic of discussion during the meeting.

Quad leaders will come together to discuss regional security and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific later on Saturday (local time). The group is expected to roll out 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 meeting gains additional significance as India is slated to host the next Quad session in 2025.

The PM will travel to New York following his engagements in Delaware for 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.

He will also participate in a round table with CEOs of American firms working on cutting-edge technologies such as AI, quantum computing and semiconductors.

(With inputs from agencies)