New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi departed from New Delhi for a 3-day visit to the United States to attend the first in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit, hold bilateral meetings, and address the United Nations General Assembly.
"PM @narendramodi emplanes for USA, where he will take part in a wide range of programmes, hold talks with world leaders including @POTUS @JoeBiden and address the UNGA," said PMO India in a tweet. The Prime Minister's office also shared a picture of the PM just before boarding the plane for the US.
In a statement before his departure, Modi said his visit to the US would be an occasion to strengthen the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership with the USA. "During my visit, I will review the India-U.S. Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership with President Biden and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest," he said.
Earlier in the day, Modi tweeted "At the invitation of @POTUS @JoeBiden, I am visiting USA to continue our dialogue, and exchange views on areas of mutual interest. Also looking forward to meet @VP @KamalaHarris to discuss global issues and explore ideas for cooperation between India and US." This will be Modi's first meeting with Biden after the latter became US President and his first-ever in-person meeting with Harris.
Modi is slated to participate in the first in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit along with President Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. "The Summit provides an opportunity to take stock of the outcomes of our virtual summit in March this year and identify priorities for future engagements based on our shared vision for the Indo-Pacific region", the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister will also hold standalone bilateral meetings with his Australian and Japanese counterparts to take stock of the strong bilateral relations with their respective countries and continue useful exchanges on regional and global issues.
Read: UNGA address will focus on Covid, need to combat terrorism, climate change: PM ahead of US visit
Briefing the media on the prime minister's visit to the US, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Tuesday said the developments in Afghanistan will be extensively discussed in the bilateral talks between Modi and Biden. Shringla said Modi will also participate in the COVID-19 global summit. The PM is also scheduled to meet a number of top executives of major US companies.
This is Modi's second visit abroad since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. His first foreign visit was to Bangladesh earlier this year.
