PM Modi all set to visit US for first-ever in-person Quad summit, key bilaterals on the anvil

File Photo

Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to visit United States with a key focus on the first-ever in-person Quad summit and his United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) address. While the Quad meeting is scheduled for Friday (September 24, 2021), PM Modi's address at the United Nations General Assembly is on Saturday.

The first leg of the Prime Minister's direct visit to the US will be Washington and will see three key bilateral meetings -- with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden. 

This, notably, will be the first in-person meeting between PM Modi and President Biden since the new US administration took charge in January this year. Both leaders, however, have spoken three times since then and were present together at two key virtual meets -- Biden's climate change summit in April and the virtual Quad meeting in March. 

Prime Minister Modi had also spoken to President-elect Biden in November 2020 to congratulate him on his victory in the US Presidential elections. It was followed by a conversation in February and April on strategic partnership and cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic. 

PM Modi will be in New York on Saturday for his UNGA address and hold bilateral on its sidelines with various countries. This will be his fourth address to the body since 2014. He has so far addressed the body in 2014, 2019 and 2020. 

The theme for this year's General Debate is ‘Building Resilience through hope to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations’. The high-level week opens in New York on Tuesday with US President Biden addressing it on the first day. 

Earlier, PM Modi had visited the US on several occasions including in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.