Prime Minister Narendra Modi is returning to India after completing a three-day trip to the United States which saw the Prime Minister engage with Quad leaders, meet the US President Joe Biden in his hometown, preside over a mega gathering of the Indian diaspora and make a fresh pitch for peace at the UN Summit for the Future event.
On the final day of his US trip, the Prime Minister also met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York after meeting leaders of Vietnam and Armenia.
PM Modi kicked off his trip on Saturday, greeted by members of the Indian diaspora in Wilmington, Delaware. He then held a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden where they both held productive discussions on ties between both nations.
“The United States’ partnership with India is stronger, closer, and more dynamic than any time in history. Prime Minister Modi, each time we sit down, I’m struck by our ability to find new areas of cooperation. Today was no different,” Biden said in a post on X.
He also met Japanese PM Fumio Kishida and Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese. All the three leaders were hosted at Biden’s residence in Greenville.
Quad Summit
The Prime Minister attended the Quad Summit with the three leaders at Biden’s alma mater Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware. At the summit, which was meant to be a farewell summit for outgoing leaders Kishida and Biden, PM Modi said ‘Quad is here to stay’ and that the group is not against anyone.
“Our meeting is taking place at a time when the world is surrounded by tensions and conflicts. In such a situation, it is crucial for the Quad to unite around our shared democratic values for the greater good of humanity,” Modi said in his remarks at the summit.
“We are not against anyone. We all support a rules-based international order, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the peaceful resolution of all issues,” he said.
China has been viewing Quad as a grouping aiming to counter its strategic heft.
Quad Cancer Moonshot
The Quad Cancer Moonshot is a “groundbreaking partnership” to save lives in the Indo-Pacific region by combating cervical cancer. Through the initiative, the Quad countries comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia have committed to work together to address gaps in the cervical cancer care and treatment ecosystem in the Indo-Pacific countries.
India has pledged a grant of USD 7.5 million to the testing, screening, and diagnosis of the disease in the Indo-Pacific region.
“India is ready to share its experience and expertise,” he said, asserting that the grant was made under India’s vision of ‘One Earth, One Heath’.
The prime minister also announced that India will provide support for radiotherapy treatment and capacity building for cancer prevention in the Indo-Pacific.
He also said that Indo-Pacific countries will be benefiting from the supply of 40 million doses of vaccine from India under GAVI, an international organisation created in 2000 to improve access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries, and QUAD programmes.
Mega Diaspora Event
The Indian diaspora accorded a warm welcome to the Prime Minister on Sunday at the Nassau Coliseum in New York when over 13,000 members of the Indian-American community from over 40+ states of the US gathered for the Modi & US event.
At the event, PM Modi lauded the Indian-American community for being living bridges connecting India and the US.
He told the mega gathering that he has set very ambitious goals for the country during his third term.
“Every Indian has confidence in India and its achievements. India today is a land of opportunities. It’s no longer waiting for opportunities. It is now creating opportunities,” he said, adding that in just a decade 250 million people have been lifted out of poverty.
“This was possible because we changed our old way of thinking. We changed our approach. We empowered the poor,” he told the Indian Americans. It is this new middle class, which is accelerating the development of India, he said.
Modi said he has dedicated his life to good governance and for a prosperous India. Observing that destiny brought him to politics, Modi said he had never thought of becoming a chief minister or prime minister. Over the last 10 years, people have seen this model of governance and thus have voted him to power for a third term, he added.
The Prime Minister also announced that India will open two new consulates in Boston and Los Angeles, meeting the long-pending demand of the fast-growing Indian American community in these two large American cities.
Push For Peace And Reform At UN Meeting
Modi on Monday said that the “success of humanity lies in our collective strength, not on the battlefield” as he addressed the UN’s Summit of the Future held against the backdrop of raging global conflicts.
Addressing world leaders from the iconic podium of the UN General Assembly hall, Modi, beginning his speech with a “Namaskar”, said that he brings the voice of 1.4 billion Indians or one-sixth of humanity to the UN.
He emphasised that for global peace and development, reforms in global institutions are essential.
He noted that the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 under India’s presidency of the grouping at the New Delhi Summit last year “was an important step in this direction.” India has been at the forefront of years-long efforts to reform the 15-nation Security Council, saying the powerful UN body does not reflect current geopolitics realities and underscoring that it rightly deserves a permanent seat at the horse-shoe table. India last sat at the UN high table as a non-permanent member in 2021-22.
Modi also gave a call for global action to match global ambition as the world continues to grapple with the threat of terrorism as well as newer challenges.
“While on the one hand, terrorism continues to be a serious threat to global peace and security, on the other hand, areas such as cyber, maritime and space, are emerging as new theatres of conflict,” he said.
“On all these issues, I will stress, that, global action must match global ambition!” he said.
CEO Roundtable
The Prime Minister urged CEOs of US majors to take advantage of India’s growth story as the country is making all efforts to become the third largest economy of the world in his third term.
India is currently the fifth largest economy of the world after the US, China, Germany and Japan with a GDP of around USD 3.9 trillion. India has been the fastest growing large economies of the world with GDP growth rate of over 7 per cent for the last three consecutive years.
Addressing CEOs of the large US tech firms on Sunday, Modi said India will make every effort to become the third largest economy in the world in his third term (2024-29).
Companies should take advantage of India’s growth story for collaboration and innovation by co-developing, co-designing, and co-producing in India for the world, harnessing the opportunities from the country’s economic and technological growth, he said.
Bilateral Meetings
PM Modi met the leaders of Kuwait, Nepal, Palestine and Vietnam in New York. He discussed issues of regional and global importance and status of bilateral ties with Nepal’s KP Sharma Oli and accepted his invitation to visit the Himalayan nation.
Modi met with Palestine’s President Abbas and reiterated India’s support for the Palestinian people.
“PM @narendramodi met H.E. Mahmoud Abbas, President of Palestine, on the sidelines of UNGA today,” the MEA said in an X post.
“The PM expressed deep concern at the humanitarian situation in Gaza and reaffirmed India’s continued support to the people of Palestine,” it said.
Modi also met Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Sabah and discussed ways to deepen “historical linkages” and “people-to-people contacts”.
On Monday, he met Vietnamese President To Lam on the sidelines of UNGA here and discussed ways to enhance the ties between the two countries and add momentum in sectors such as connectivity, trade, and culture.
