India-US strategic partnership is a 'partnership of trust': PM Narendra Modi tells Joe Biden

Tokyo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Joe Biden in Tokyo on Tuesday shortly after holding the Quad Leaders` Summit during which he outlined that the “India-US strategic partnership is a partnership of trust”. “India-US strategic partnership is a partnership of trust in the true sense. Our common interests in defence and other matters and our shared values have strengthened our bond of trust,” PM Modi told US President Biden.

PM Modi and Biden also discussed the ongoing effects of “Russia's brutal and non-justified invasion of Ukraine” during their talks in Tokyo.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden hold bilateral talks in Tokyo pic.twitter.com/pZ3slA7zNp — ANI (@ANI) May 24, 2022

The meeting marks a continuation of their regular dialogue having interacted most recently in virtual mode on April 11. The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global developments of shared interest.

Drawing a parallel between "India`s success with China`s failure" to handle the pandemic, President Biden praised PM Modi for handling the Covid-19 outbreak in a democratic manner. According to a senior official, Biden contrasted India`s success with China`s failure to handle the Covid-19 pandemic while both the countries are of comparable size.

Biden added that PM Modi`s success has shown the world that democracies can deliver, and busted the "myth that autocracies like China and Russia can handle the rapidly changing world better because their leadership can take and implement decisions without going through lengthy democratic processes", said the official.

According to the official, these remarks from President Biden appeared to be unscripted, as he made a special intervention to say this before his prepared remarks.

The meeting between the two leaders took place after the fourth interaction of Quad Leaders since their first virtual meeting in March 2021, in-person Summit in Washington DC in September 2021 and virtual meeting in March 2022.

The Quad Summit provided an opportunity for the Leaders to exchange views about developments in the Indo-Pacific region and contemporary global issues of mutual interest. The Quad summit witnessed the launch of a new initiative for continuous collaboration in the maritime domain, space, climate change, health and cyber security. 

 (With Agency Inputs)