Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to travel to the US during September 23-25 to participate in the first in-person summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad and to address the United Nations General Assembly.
Modi, who will be making only his second visit abroad since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, is expected to begin his visit with a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington. This will be the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since Biden assumed office earlier this year, though they have interacted at virtual events and spoken on phone several times.
The Prime Minister will join Biden and his Australian and Japanese counterparts, Scott Morrison and Yoshihide Suga respectively, for the Quad Leaders’ Summit at the White House in Washington on September 24 – six months after their first virtual summit held on March 12.
“The Biden-Harris administration has made elevating the Quad a priority, as seen through the first-ever Quad Leaders-level engagement in March, which was virtual, and now this summit, which will be in-person,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said.
Hosting the Quad leaders demonstrates the US administration’s “priority of engaging in the Indo-Pacific, including through new multilateral configurations to meet the challenges of the 21st century”, she said.
The in-person summit will be an opportunity to review progress made since the virtual summit and to discuss regional issues of shared interest, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.
Among the issues that are expected to figure prominently in the Quad Summit are the situation in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover on August 15, and ways to give fresh impetus to the ambitious Quad vaccine partnership, which was announced in March and envisages the distribution of one billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines across the Indo-Pacific.
At their first 2+2 ministerial dialogue on September 11, India and Australia insisted Afghan soil must not become a safe haven for terrorists or be used for attacks on other nations, and called for steps to ensure an inclusive governing structure in Kabul. The US has said it intends to hold the Taliban to its counter-terrorism related commitments, including severing ties with al-Qaeda and other terror groups active in Afghanistan.
The deliberations at the Quad Summit are expected to shape the approach of the four countries on the crucial issue of any recognition of the Taliban setup in Kabul. The statement from the external affairs ministry said the Quad leaders will “review the Quad vaccine initiative” as part of their ongoing efforts to contain the pandemic.
Under the vaccine partnership, the four countries were to supply US-developed vaccines, such as the Johnson & Johnson shot, that would be manufactured in India with funding from American and Japanese financial institutions. Australia will provide logistics support to deliver the doses to countries across the Indo-Pacific.
The initiative stalled after India was hit by a devastating second wave of Covid-19 infections in March-April and the country restricted vaccine exports. Under a new timeframe, the vaccines are expected to be rolled out next year.
The four leaders will also exchange views on global issues such as critical and emerging technologies, connectivity and infrastructure, cyber security, maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, climate change, and education, the statement said.
