New York [US], September 22 (ANI): After Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended Quad summit in US, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that prime minister emphasised India’s commitment to cooperation, contact, and engagement for growth with various partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
The remarks by Misri came while he addressed a press briefing in New York.
Elaborating about the plurilateral meetings, Misri said, “In the plurilateral meetings today, PM Modi underlined India’s approach to cooperation, contact and engagement for growth with a variety of partners in the Indo-Pacific.”
He further said, “It was striking to hear the other Quad leaders acknowledge India’s actions and also at the same time, hear the expectations of India which reallly underlines the need to continue to work, and sustain this enourmous trust that India has earned from its partners…”
Misri further said that during his meeting with US President Joe Biden, PM Modi expressed gratitude to President Biden for hosting the Quad Summit and for his leadership in strengthening the Quad partnership in recent times. He said, “In the bilateral meeting with President Biden and also in the Quad summit, PM Modi thanked President Biden profusely for hosting the summit and for his leadership for the Quad in recent times, and his personal committment to strengthen the Quad.”
Misri also said that PM Modi also coined a description of the Quad, terming it “quick, unified assistance delivery. “PM Modi referred to the Quad in a very evocative way- he called it quick, unified assistance delivery and the other members of the Quad said that they finally understood what the Quad really signified and stood for. The PM also mentioned that at a time when world is ridden with tensions and conflict, the coming together of these four Quad partners which share democratic values is important for humanity,” he said.
Meanwhile, PM Modi on Sunday interacted with the members of the Indian diaspora after he arrived at Hotel Lotte Palace in New York.
In a post on X, PM Modi shared pictures of his meeting with members of the Indian diaspora and wrote, “After programmes in Delaware, landed in New York. Eager to be among the diaspora at the community programme in the city and to take part in other programmes.”
Earlier in the day, PM Modi arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to attend the Summit of the Future (SOTF) at the United Nations, the Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal said.
The Prime Minister will chair key bilateral meetings in New York during the visit. In a post on X, Jaiswal said, “PM Narendra Modi arrives in New York, the second leg of his 3-day visit to the USA. PM will address the UN Summit of the Future, interact with the community and attend other programs.”
Notably, President Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the Quad Leaders’ Summit on Saturday (local time) in Wilmington, Delaware.
The sixth edition of the Quad Leaders’ Summit is a ‘farewell’ summit for both US President Joe Biden and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida before they step down from their respective offices. (ANI)
India’s emphasis is “minimising conflict and division” and “leveraging democratic values”: Foreign Secretary Vikram on PM Modi’s US visit
New York [US], September 22 (ANI): Among the overaching messages from Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s engagements during the Quad summit is the emphasis of India on minimizing conflict and division while leveraging democratic values to pursue development objectives, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Sunday.
Addressing a special briefing on PM Modi‘s visit to the US, Misri said, “India’s emphasis is on minimizing conflict and division, leveraging democratic values even as we pursued development objectives, and highlighting the role of technology and the digital revolution in ushering in good governance, essentially to turn the disruptive features of technology to good ends.”
These themes found reflections during the bilateral meetings in Delaware,the Foreign secretary said.
Technology was a key focus in both bilateral and plurilateral discussions, as highlighted in the Quad fact sheet and the joint fact sheet with the United States, Misri said.
“In the plurilateral meetings today, PM Modi underlined India’s approach to cooperation, contact and engagement for growth with a variety of partners in the Indo-Pacific. It was striking to hear the other Quad leaders acknowledge India’s actions,” the Foreign Secretary said during the press briefing.
Misri said that Saturday was very packed for PM Modi who is on a three-day visit to the United States. After landing in Philadelphia he immediately went to a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden and later attended attended the Quad Summit at the US President’s Wilmington home alongside Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida.
“The prime minister landed in Philadelphia after a 15-and-a-half-hour flight from New Delhi and went almost straightaway into a bilateral meeting with President Biden. As you probably saw, the meeting was held in a very evocative setting at President Biden‘s personal residence in Wilmington,” he said.
Misri said that following the meeting, the leaders gathered for events related to Quad Leaders’ Summit.
“Following that, we got down to the events related to the Quad summit. This is the fourth in-person summit of the leaders, the 6th summit overall, and that was held at the Archmere Academy, a venue very closely connected with President Biden,” he said.
Misri said that at the Quad meeting, PM Modi and other leaders participated in the launch of the Quad Cancer Moonshot initiative aimed to combat cervival cancer. Modi announced that India would grant USD7.5 million for cancer testing, screening and diagnostics in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Prime Minister also together with the other Quad leaders, participated in the launch of a cancer moonshot initiative being taken by the Quad leaders, this one aimed at addressing the challenges posed by cervical cancer. The prime minister had bilateral meetings with his other Quad counterparts, Prime Minister Kishida of Japan and Prime Minister Albanese of Australia, and the evening ended with dinner hosted by Biden,” he said.
An important feature was the return of nearly 300 antiquities back to India, here we were not just talking about not just ‘vikas‘ but also ‘virasat,’ said the Foreign Secretary.
The United States returned 297 antiquities that were stolen from India. Prime Minister Modi took to X to share the news and lauded US President Joe Biden for his commitment to fight against illicit trafficking of cultural properties. “Deepening cultural connect and strengthening the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural properties,” PM Modi wrote on X, “I am extremely grateful to President Biden and the US Government for ensuring the return of 297 invaluable antiquities to India. @POTUS @JoeBiden,” he added.
After arriving in New York Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared glimpses of the grand welcome he received from the Indian diaspora at the hotel.
“After programmes in Delaware, landed in New York. Eager to be among the diaspora at the community programme in the city and to take part in other programmes,” PM Modi he wrote on X (ANI)
