G20 Summit in New Delhi
In their second bilateral meeting in less than six months, American President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to strengthen their countries’ ties as Delhi gets ready to host the leaders of the Group of 20 major industrialized and developing nations.
Following a brief meeting at Modi’s official residence following Biden’s arrival in Delhi, the two leaders released a 29-point statement that emphasized the depth and breadth of their relationship in an era of evolving global alliances. Their work together on renewable and nuclear energy, climate financing, and cancer research were just a few of the areas covered in the statement.
The two leaders “reaffirmed the Quad’s importance in supporting a free, open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific” and “expressed their appreciation for the substantial progress underway to implement the groundbreaking achievements of Prime Minister Modi’s historic June 2023 visit to Washington. In reaction to China’s growing power in the Indo-Pacific area, Australia, India, Japan, and the U.S. formed the informal security alliance known as the Quad.
After meetings with the leaders of Mauritius and Bangladesh, Modi held this private meeting with Biden as the third of the roughly a dozen bilateral meetings scheduled for this weekend. This meeting highlighted India’s strategic ambitions as a key player bridging the developed world and the global south.
The meeting is significant for Modi because his administration has used the typically understated rotating G20 presidency as a marketing tool to highlight India’s geopolitical importance in advance of the country’s 2019 elections. As China’s economy slows, a rising number of governments, investors, and companies are turning their attention to India, which the International Monetary Fund predicts will have the greatest growth this year.
