“Visit has bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral aspects”: Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on PM Modi’s visit to US

New Delhi [India], September 19 (ANI): Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Thursday said that the upcoming visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Quad summit emphasises several important aspects, including bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral, and asserted that the agenda of the summit includes developing Indo-Pacific region, and implementing Sustainable Development Goals.

The remarks by Misri came during a briefing by the Ministry of External Affairs on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States for the upcoming Quad summit.

Elaborating on the events which will be taking place in the US during PM Modi’s visit, Misri said, “PM Modi will be visiting the US from September 21-23. This visit combines very important aspects. It has very important bilateral aspect to it, very important plurilateral aspects to it and equally important multilateral aspect to it. There will be interaction with a variety of foreign partners at the level of the Prime Minister. There will be interaction with the large Indian diaspora in the US. And there will be engagement with a host of business and industry leaders, amongst others.”

He added, “PM’s first talk will be in Wilmington, Delaware, which is the hometown of President Joe Biden. That is also the venue of this sixth Quad summit…”

Misri further informed that from Wilmington, the PM will travel to New York, to attend the Summit of the Future. He said, “He (PM Modi) will also have a number of engagements throughout these three days. On September 21, there will be Quad summit; the bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Quad summit. A special event on the sidelines of Quad summit will be Cancer Moonshot event. On September 22, PM will have an interaction with the Indian diaspora. This is being organised by the community in Long Island, New York…”

Speaking on the objective of the Cancer Moonshot initiative, Misri said, “Through the Cancer Moonshot initiative, the Quad aims to implement innovative strategies to prevent, detect, treat, and alleviate the impact of cancer on patients and their families, and to begin with, we intend to collaborate to reduce the burden of cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific region.”

The Foreign Secretary also said that PM Modi will engage with several tech CEOs during his three day visit. “There will be a technology roundtable with a number of tech CEOs where we will have the opportunity to discuss the tech investment landscape and the opportunities that are available here,” Misri said. “There will be several other meetings with stakeholders and bilateral meetings with head of states,” he added.

“On September 23, PM will address the Summit of the Future in the United Nations General Assembly. There are a few more bilateral meetings that are being fixed up on that day,” Misri informed.

Elaborating on the agenda of Quad, Misri said that the Quad’s constructive agenda continues to “develop the Indo-Pacific, implementing Sustainable Development Goals, delivering public goods, and having a strong focus on peace, prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.”

He added, “Our agenda includes covering health security, climate change, critical and emerging technology, HADR, connectivity, maritime security, and counter-terrorism.”

The Foreign Secretary also noted that the upcoming visit offers the Quad leaders, the opportunity to view progress achieved in the last one year and set the agenda for the next year.

Elaborating on the bilateral meetings with President Biden, Misri said that the India and US will exchange agreements. “At the bilarteral meeting with President Joe Biden, there will be an opportunity for both sides to exchange a few agreements — Indo-Pacific economy related framework agreements, and India-US drug framework,” Misri said.

On the possibility of meeting with former US President Donald Trump, Misri said, “There are many meetings with the Prime Minister right now which we are trying to fix. Right now, I will not be able to tell you about any specific meeting, whether the meeting has been fixed or not. We are looking from all angles as to how much time we have and with whom we can hold meetings. We will keep updating you about the meetings.”

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States from September 21 to 23 during which he will take part in the Quad Summit and address the ‘Summit of the Future’ at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

PM Modi will take part in the fourth Quad Leaders’ Summit in Wilmington, Delaware, which is being hosted by US President Joe Biden on September 21. Following the request of the US side to host the Quad Summit this year, India has agreed to host the next Quad Summit in 2025.

At the Quad Summit, the leaders will review the progress achieved by the Quad over the last one year and set the agenda for the year ahead to assist the countries of the Indo-Pacific region in meeting their development goals and aspirations, a Ministry of External Affairs release said.

PM Modi will address ‘Summit of the Future’ at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23. The theme of the Summit is ‘Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow’.

Quad is a diplomatic partnership between four countries–Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. It is pertinent to note that in recent years, Quad Foreign Ministers have met eight times, and Quad governments continue to meet and coordinate at all levels.