Ukraine, Gaza, key pacts on agenda during PM’s US visit

New initiatives by the Quad to ensure peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific, the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, and reform of global governance structures will be part of the agenda for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US this week, according to details shared by the external affairs ministry on Thursday.
Modi will begin the three-day visit by participating in the Quad Summit in US President Joe Biden’s hometown of Wilmington in Delaware and holding bilateral meetings with other leaders of the grouping – Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japan’s premier Fumio Kishida – on September 21.
He will then travel to New York to participate in an interaction with the Indian diaspora at Long Island on September 22, and the Summit of the Future at the UN General Assembly the following day. There will also be bilateral meetings with world leaders on the margins of the General Assembly and a roundtable with CEOs of American firms working on cutting edge technologies such as AI, quantum computing and semiconductors.
Pressing global challenges such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, escalating tensions in West Asia, and the situation in the Indo-Pacific are set to figure at the Quad Leaders’ Summit to be hosted by Biden, foreign secretary Vikram Misri told a media briefing on Thursday. India was to host the summit this year, before it agreed to a request from the American side to take on the responsibility in 2025.
The Quad Summit will have a substantive and constructive agenda, including work by the partners on development priorities of the Indo-Pacific, implementing the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and delivering public goods. There will be a “strong focus on peace, progress and stability in the Indo-Pacific”, and the leaders will discuss health security, climate change, emerging technologies, infrastructure, connectivity, maritime security, counterterrorism and humanitarian assistance, Misri said.
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At an event on the margins of the Quad Summit, the four partners will launch the Cancer Moonshot, a special initiative to prevent, detect and treat cancer across the Indo-Pacific. There will also be new initiatives and commitments by the partners in different sectors, including investments and capacity building.
At the bilateral meeting between Modi and Biden, the two sides will unveil agreements on India joining two of the four pillars of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on an India-US drug framework. India had earlier signed on for the supply chains pillar of IPEF and it will now become part of the pillars on clean economy and fair economy. India has so far stayed away from the trade pillar of IPEF, which was launched by the US and partners in the Indo-Pacific region in 2022.
“Work and discussion on the trade pillar continue at this point of time,” Misri told the media briefing.
Misri acknowledged that the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza are expected to figure at both the Quad Summit and bilateral meetings in New York, but refused to be drawn out on the issue of whether the Indian side will present a specific proposals to end the Russia-Ukraine war following Modi’s visits to the warring countries in the past two months.
Misri declined to comment on questions about bilateral meetings with former US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying the schedule was still being finalised.
Noting that Modi had spoken to Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin following his visit to Kyiv last month, and that National Security Adviser Ajit Doval too met Putin during a recent visit to Russia, Misri said: “I can only say that talks are continuing between the leaders and as far as the question of making a proposal is concerned, we have to see how much consensus is built and if we can reach a stage where a proposal can be put before a larger audience.”
Misri reiterated India’s long-standing position on the situation in West Asia by saying that New Delhi has “always stood for a ceasefire” in Gaza. India also wants a humanitarian corridor for the delivery of aid to Gaza and the immediate release of hostages taken by Hamas last October so that work can begin on a “more sustainable and broad-based settlement”.
India’s long-term approach favours a two-state solution with Israel and Palestine living at peace with each other within stable and secure borders, he said.
At the Summit of the Future in New York, which is aimed at bringing together world leaders to enhance multilateral cooperation to tackle the most pressing global challenges, Modi will outline India’s priorities such as inclusive, equitable and sustainable development, South-South cooperation, and the concerns of the Global South.
The Indian side will also emphasise at the summit, which is being held amid conflicts and divisions across the world, that there is an “obvious deficit of development” and a risk of the Global South being left behind. The Indian side will also signal its willingness to step forward to tackle challenges related to global peace and security, Misri said.