Modi Spoke to US President-Elect Joe Biden: Discussed many major issues including Covid-19 and terrorism
New Delhi, Nov 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reiterated India’s firm commitment to its strategic partnership with the United States. He also described election of Kamala Harris as the vice president “a matter of pride for the India-American community.”
Modi spoke to US President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday late night and congratulated him and Kamala Harris for their historical win in the US Presidential elections.
“Success of Kamala Harris was a matter of pride for the Indian-American community.” Modi tweeted
After talking with Biden, Modi tweeted, “Spoke to US President-elect Joe Biden on the phone to congratulate him. We reiterated our firm commitment to the Indo-US strategic partnership and discussed our shared priorities and concerns – the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Region,”
Modi flagged three major issues during talk with Biden, Indo-Pacific, Covid-19 and climate change, an old favourite of the Democratic administration.
According to Biden’s transition team “Joe Biden is looking forward to working closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on shared global challenges, including containing COVID-19, launching the global economic recovery and maintaining a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,”
It was the first conversation between Modi and Biden after he defeated incumbent Republican president Donald Trump in the November 3 US presidential election.
Biden thanked Modi for his congratulations and “expressed his desire to strengthen and expand the US-India strategic partnership.
Earlier on Tuesday, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar talked about the incoming Biden administration and said, “Noting that the Democrat is not a stranger to India.”
Apart from working together to combat terrorism and climate change and defeat the Covid pandemic, Biden is expected to support India’s claim to a permanent UN Security Council seat.
According to a policy paper released during the election, the President-elect feels “no common global challenge can be solved without India and the US working as responsible partners.”
(Vinayak Barot)
