First Modi-Biden meet to focus on Afghanistan, terrorism, bolstering Indo-US ties: Foreign Secretary

On September 22 (Wednesday), Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fly to the United States of America (USA) for a one-on-one meeting with President Joe Biden, as well as to attend the first-ever in-person Quad Leaders Summit and address the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Tuesday.

“PM Modi and US President Biden will review India-US relations and are anticipated to explore measures to expand trade and investment connections, strengthen defence and security collaborations, and boost renewable energy partnership, among other things,” Foreign Secretary HV Shringla said at a press conference. 

According to the Indian government, President Joe Biden's first bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deepen US-India strategic ties and allow the leaders to explore strategies to combat radicalization and terrorism. 

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A high-level team will accompany the PM, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

The first in-person encounter with US President Joe Biden, the QUAD leaders meeting, and the United Nations General Assembly session will be the highlights of the programme, according to Shringla.

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In their Friday meeting in Washington, PM Modi and US President Biden will also discuss the powerful and varied India-US relationship, according to Shringla. 

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"PM Modi will participate in the COVID-19 Global Summit hosted by US President Biden tomorrow.PM Modi, US Prez's bilateral meeting will also feature current regional security situation following developments in Afghanistan. We would discuss the need to stem radicalisation, extremism, cross-border terrorism and dismantling of global terror networks," Shringla added.

A meeting with US Vice-President Kamala Harris is also part of the bilateral engagement. This will be PM Modi's first official meeting with the Vice President. 

(With inputs from agencies)