Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden reviewed bilateral cooperation in key areas such as critical technologies and discussed regional and global developments at a meeting on the margins of the G20 Summit in Bali on Tuesday.
The two leaders had a “useful exchange” during which they appreciated the continued deepening of the bilateral strategic partnership and close cooperation within groupings such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad and I2U2 (India, Israel, US and UAE), external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
The Ukraine war and its fallout on food and energy security is understood to have figured in the discussions between the two leaders, though the issue was not mentioned in a readout from the external affairs ministry.
Modi and Biden reviewed the enhanced bilateral cooperation in “future oriented sectors”, such as critical and emerging technologies, advanced computing and artificial intelligence, the readout said.
They discussed topical global and regional developments, and Modi thanked Biden for his constant support for strengthening the India-US partnership. Modi expressed confidence that both countries will continue to maintain close coordination during India’s G20 presidency in 2023, the readout added.
“Happy to have met @POTUS @JoeBiden at the @g20org Summit in Bali. We had fruitful exchanges on key issues,” Modi tweeted.
Modi and Biden also met Indonesian President Joko Widodo on the sidelines of the summit.
“Working with leaders to shape the priorities and development agenda for the global economy. Detailing #G20India focus areas, PM welcomed support for our G20 presidency,” Bagchi said in a tweet.
Modi also separately met Biden and Indonesian President Joko Widodo on the sidelines of the summit and told them India will “give voice to other developing countries” during its G20 presidency. He emphasised G20’s role in assisting vulnerable countries, supporting inclusive development, strengthening economic security and global supply chains, and developing improved financing models for multilateral financial institutions, according to an official statement.
The G20 should provide solutions to challenges such as climate change, pandemics and economic fragility.
Modi underlined G20’s importance in bringing together major economies to overcome global challenges. He thanked Widodo and Biden for their commitment to support G20’s work under India’s presidency.
India is set to take over from Indonesia as president of the G20 at the conclusion of the summit in Bali. New Delhi has said the focus of its G20 presidency will be addressing the challenges facing developing countries, such as food and energy security and spiraling inflation in the aftermath of the Ukraine war.
On Wednesday, Modi is expected to hold bilateral meetings with Indonesian President Widodo, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez Perez Castejon, French President Emmanuel Macron, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. (Hindustan Times)
