On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden had an exchange of words. Both the leaders shared concerns with the PM asserting that both of them are committed to a rules based order and are looking forward to consolidating the bilateral strategic partnership as well as further peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
This was the first time they had a conversation after Biden joined office.
In a tweet, Modi said that he conveyed his best wishes to the US president, and the two leaders discussed regional issues as well as shared priorities.
Spoke to @POTUS @JoeBiden and conveyed my best wishes for his success. We discussed regional issues and our shared priorities. We also agreed to further our co-operation against climate change.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 8, 2021
“President Biden & I are committed to a rules based order. We look forward to consolidating our strategic partnership to further peace & security in Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” PM Modi said in another tweet.
President @JoeBiden and I are committed to a rules-based international order. We look forward to consolidating our strategic partnership to further peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. @POTUS
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 8, 2021
Prime Minister Modi had also spoken to Biden after his electoral triumph over Donald Trump in the US polls. At that time, the two leaders had discussed the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, while reiterating their firm commitment to the strategic bilateral partnership.
Last month, Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States and Kamala Harris took oath as first woman vice president in a historic but scaled down ceremony.
Noting that the India-US partnership is based on shared values, Modi had said the two countries have a substantial and multi-faceted bilateral agenda, growing economic engagement and vibrant people to people linkages.
Biden is known to be a strong proponent of closer India-US ties since his days as a senator in the 1970s and played a key role in getting the approval of the Senate for the bilateral civil nuclear deal in 2008.
The strategic and defence ties between India and the US witnessed major expansion during Barack Obama’s presidency, where Biden was the vice president.
