G20 Summit 2023: Key Takeaways From Modi, Biden Bilateral Meeting
Biden reaffirmed his support for India’s claim to a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday vowed to "deepen and diversify" the bilateral defence partnership while welcoming forward movement in India's procurement of 31 drones and joint development of jet engines.
In their over 50-minute talks, the two leaders deliberated on India's G20 presidency, cooperation in nuclear energy, critical and emerging technologies such as 6G and artificial intelligence, and ways to fundamentally reshape multilateral development banks.
The joint statement said the U.S. President welcomed the issuance of a Letter of Request from India's Defence Ministry to procure 31 MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft from American defence giant General Atomics.
It said the two leaders also welcomed the completion of the Congressional notification process and the commencement of negotiations for a commercial agreement between GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd. to manufacture GE F-414 jet engines in India.
Permanent Seat At UN Security Council
Biden reaffirmed his support for India’s claim to a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council and pledged his commitment to the UN reform agenda.
"The leaders once again underscored the need to strengthen and reform the multilateral system so it may better reflect contemporary realities and remain committed to a comprehensive UN reform agenda, including through expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of membership of the UN Security Council," the joint statement said.
Astronaut To International Space Station
Biden also congratulated PM Modi on the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 at the south polar region of the Moon and the success of the Aditya-L1 solar mission.
The two countries said that they have started talks to put in place a strategic framework for human space flight by year's end, as they plan to send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station in 2024.
"Determined to deepen our partnership in outer space exploration, ISRO and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have commenced discussions on modalities, capacity building, and training for mounting a joint effort to the International Space Station in 2024 and are continuing efforts to finalise a strategic framework for human space flight cooperation by the end of 2023," said the statement issued after the talks between the two leaders.
Trade Dispute Settlement
The statement said that the two countries have settled the last trade dispute at the World Trade Organisation over poultry products.
With this, the two countries have mutually resolved all seven pending trade disputes at the WTO.
"The leaders lauded the settlement of the seventh and last outstanding WTO dispute between India and the United States. This follows the unprecedented settlement of six outstanding bilateral trade disputes in the WTO in June 2023," the statement said.
(With inputs from PTI)
