Chandrayaan-3 to UNSC permanent seat: PM Modi, US President Biden discuss 'numerous topics' in Delhi

US President Joe Biden held closed-door talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for nearly an hour on Friday, shortly after arriving in New Delhi for G20 summit over the weekend and discussed a wide array of topics.

"Happy to have welcomed @POTUS @JoeBiden to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. Our meeting was very productive. We were able to discuss numerous topics which will further economic and people-to-people linkages between India and USA. The friendship between our nations will continue to play a great role in furthering global good," posted PM Modi on X (formerly Twitter) after their meeting.

PM Modi hosted US President Joe Biden at his residence for a bilateral meeting. The meeting began at 7:45 pm and ended at 8:37 pm.

The two leaders issued a joint statement after the talks. It said the two countries had pledged their commitments to cooperate on a range of issues from democratic values to semiconductor supply chains and quantum computing.

"Prime Minister Modi looked forward to welcoming President Biden to the next Quad Leaders’ Summit to be hosted by India in 2024.  India welcomed the US decision to co-lead the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative Pillar on Trade Connectivity and Maritime Transport, further to the US decision to join IPOI in June 2023," said White House.

The Quad, comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia, has been focusing on practical cooperation to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's increasing military muscle-flexing in the region.

Biden reaffirmed his support for a reformed UN Security Council with India as a permanent member, and, in this context, welcomed once again India’s candidature for the UNSC non-permanent seat in 2028-29. 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, added White House.

The PM's office released a handful of official photographs of the meeting, showing the two leaders seated side by side and chatting amiably.

Biden and Modi last met in person in June when the Indian leader was the guest of a White House state visit. The leaders welcomed completion of the Congressional Notification process on August 29, 2023 and the commencement of negotiations for a commercial agreement between GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) to manufacture GE F-414 jet engines in India.

 The leaders applauded the conclusion of a second Master Ship Repair Agreement, with the most recent agreement signed by the US Navy and Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders, Ltd., in August 2023.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen joined Friday's meeting, as did White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, the White House said in a statement. Indian attendees included external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and security adviser Ajit Doval.

Biden congratulated Modi and the scientists and engineers of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Chandrayaan-3’s historic landing at the south polar region of the Moon, as well as the successful launch of India’s first solar mission, Aditya-L1. "Determined to deepen our partnership in outer space exploration, ISRO and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 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.  India and the United States also intend to increase coordination on planetary defence to protect planet Earth and space assets from the impact of asteroids and near-Earth objects," said White House.

Prime Minister Modi and President Biden also pledged to sustain the high-level of engagement between their governments, industries, and academic institutions and realise their ambitious vision for an enduring India-US partnership that advances the aspirations of their people for a bright and prosperous future, serves the global good, and contributes to a free, open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific, stated a joint statement issued after bilateral talks between the two leaders. The joint statement was issued after comprehensive talks between Modi and Biden to further economic and people-to-people bilateral linkages with the Prime Minister asserting that the friendship between the two nations will continue to play a great role in furthering global good.

India welcomed the US decision to co-lead the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative Pillar on Trade Connectivity and Maritime Transport, further to the US decision to join the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) in June 2023, it said.

This is President Biden's first visit to India as US President. The last US President to visit India was Donald Trump in February 2020.

After the G20, Biden is to visit Vietnam before returning to the United States later on Monday.

Here’s what the two leaders discussed:

- PM Modi, President Biden reaffirmed commitment to G20 and expressed confidence that the outcomes of the summit will advance shared goals.

- The two world leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepen and diversify the India-US Major Defence Partnership through expanded cooperation in new and emerging domains such as space and AI.

- PM Modi and President Biden reaffirmed technology’s defining role in deepening the strategic partnership between the two nations and lauded ongoing efforts on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) to build open, accessible, secure, and resilient technology ecosystems and value chains.

- PM Modi and President Biden reaffirmed the importance of the Quad in supporting a free, open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific.  

- PM Modi and President Biden welcomed intensified consultations between the relevant entities on both sides to expand opportunities for facilitating India-US collaboration in nuclear energy.