Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns to India after completing a three-day trip to the United States where the Prime Minister held talks with Quad leaders, met US President Joe Biden in his hometown, presided over a large gathering of Indian people and a new voice of peace at the UN Summit for the Future event .
On the last day of his US trip, the Prime Minister also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York after meeting with the leaders of Vietnam and Armenia.
Prime Minister Modi began his tour on Saturday, greeted by members of the Indian diaspora in Wilmington, Delaware. He then held a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden where both had meaningful discussions about the relationship between the two countries.
“The relationship between the United States and India is stronger, closer and stronger than at any time in history. Prime Minister Modi, each time we sit down, I am impressed by our ability to find new areas of cooperation. Today was no different,” Biden said in a post on X.
He also met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese. All three leaders were arrested 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 conference, which was supposed to be a farewell conference for outgoing leaders Kishida and Biden, Prime Minister Modi said “Quad will stay” and that the party is not against anyone.
“Our meeting continues at a time when the world is surrounded by disagreements and conflicts. In such a situation, it is important that the Quad comes together closely with our shared democratic values for the benefit of humanity,” Modi said in his remarks at the summit.
“We are not against anyone. “We all support the international order based on rules, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the peaceful resolution of all problems,” he said.
China has always viewed the Quad as a group that aims to counter its strategic heft.
Quad Cancer Moonshot
The Quad Cancer Moonshot is a “foundational partnership” to save lives in the Indo-Pacific region by fighting cervical cancer. Through this initiative, the Quad countries including India, the US, Japan and Australia have committed to work together to address the gaps in cervical cancer care and natural treatment in the Indo-Pacific countries.
India has pledged USD 7.5 million in funding for screening, testing and diagnosis of the disease in the Indo-Pacific region.
“India is ready to share its knowledge and expertise,” he said, asserting that the grant was made under India’s ‘One Earth, One Heath’ vision.
The prime minister also announced that India will provide assistance in radiotherapy and cancer prevention capacity building in the Indo-Pacific.
He also said that the Indo-Pacific countries will be benefiting from the supply of 40 million vaccines from India under GAVI, an international organization established in 2000 to improve access to new and underutilized vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries, and QUAD. plans.
Mega Diaspora event
Citizens of India gave a warm welcome to the Prime Minister on Sunday at the Nassau Coliseum in New York where more than 13,000 members of the Indian-American community from more than 40+ states of the US gathered for Modi’s event in the US.
At the event, Prime Minister Modi praised the Indian-American community for being the bridge between India and the US.
He told the general assembly that he has set big goals for the country in his third term.
“Every Indian believes in India and its success. India today is a land of opportunity. Opportunities are no longer waiting. Now there are opportunities,” he said, adding that in just ten years, 250 million people have been lifted out of poverty.
“This happened because we changed the way we thought. We changed our way of doing things. Give power to the poor,” he told the American Indians. It is this new middle class, which is accelerating India’s development, he said.
Modi said he dedicated his life to good governance and a prosperous India. Seeing the fate that brought him to politics, Modi said that he never thought of becoming the prime minister or prime minister. In the last 10 years, people have seen this example of governance and thus voted for him for a third term, he added.
The Prime Minister also announced that India will open two new embassies in Boston and Los Angeles, meeting the long-standing need of the rapidly growing Indian American community in these two major American cities.
Push for Peace and Reform at the UN Assembly
Modi on Monday said “people’s success lies in the power of all of us, not in the battlefield” while addressing a UN conference on the future held after the world’s worst conflicts.
Addressing world leaders on the stage of the UN General Assembly hall building, Modi, starting his speech with “Namaskar”, said he was bringing the voice of 1.4 billion Indians or one-sixth of the population to the UN.
He stressed that in order to have peace and development in the world, changes in the world’s institutions are important.
He noted that the inclusion of the African Union as a full member of the G20 under the leadership of the Indian president of the group at the New Delhi Summit last year “is an important step in this regard.” India has been at the forefront of years-long efforts to bring about reforms in the 15-nation Security Council, saying the powerful UN body does not reflect existing political realities and insisting it deserves a permanent seat at the horseshoe table. India last sat at the top table of the UN as a non-permanent member in 2021-22.
Modi also called for global action to align with global aspirations as the world continues to face the threat of terrorism and new challenges.
“Although on the one hand, terrorism continues to be a serious threat to peace and security of the world, on the other hand, areas such as cyber, sea and space, are emerging as new arenas of conflict,” he said.
“In all these problems, I will emphasize, that, the action of the whole world must be in line with the desire of the whole world!” he said.
CEO Roundtable
The Prime Minister urged the American leaders to take advantage of this opportunity for India’s growth as the country is making every effort to become the world’s third largest economy.
India is currently the fifth largest economy in the world after the US, China, Germany and Japan with a GDP estimated at USD 3.9 trillion. India has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world with a GDP growth rate of over 7 percent for three consecutive years.
Speaking to CEOs of major American technology companies on Sunday, Modi said India will do everything possible to become the world’s third largest economy in his third term (2024-29).
Companies should capitalize on India’s growth and innovation issues by assembling, designing, and co-producing in India globally, taking advantage of the opportunities arising from the country’s economic and technological growth, he said.
Bilateral Meetings
Prime Minister Modi met the leaders of Kuwait, Nepal, Palestine and Vietnam in New York. He discussed important regional and global issues and the state of bilateral relations with Nepal’s KP Sharma Oli and accepted his invitation to visit the Himalayan nation.
Modi met Palestinian President Abbas and reiterated India’s support to the Palestinian people.
“PM @narendramodi met HE Mahmoud Abbas, President of Palestine, on the sidelines of UNGA today,” MEA said in X’s post.
“The Prime Minister expressed deep concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza and assured India’s continued support to the Palestinian people,” he said.
Modi also met Kuwait’s Prince Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Sabah and discussed ways to deepen “historic ties” and “people-to-people ties”.
On Monday, he met with Vietnamese President To Lam on the sidelines of the UNGA here and discussed ways to improve relations between the two countries and increase momentum in areas such as communication, trade, and culture.