Modi and Biden Pledge to Strengthen and Expand Defense Ties:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden have pledged to enhance and broaden their bilateral defense partnership. This commitment comes as they welcome progress in India’s acquisition of 31 drones and the joint development of jet engines.
The two leaders met for approximately 50 minutes shortly after President Biden arrived in New Delhi for the G20 summit. Their discussions covered India’s role in the G20 presidency, collaboration in nuclear energy, critical technologies like 6G and artificial intelligence, and efforts to reshape multilateral development banks fundamentally.
They also explored ways to strengthen the Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership (CGSP), emphasizing its broad scope.
Following their meeting, a joint statement was issued, highlighting advancements in defense cooperation, including the completion of the Congressional notification process on August 29. Negotiations have now begun for a commercial agreement between GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) to manufacture GE F-414 jet engines in India. President Biden welcomed India’s letter of request to procure 31 General Atomics MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft along with associated equipment.
President Biden commended India’s leadership during its G20 presidency, demonstrating the forum’s effectiveness in achieving important outcomes. Both leaders expressed their commitment to the G20 and their confidence in the summit’s ability to advance shared objectives.
They also reiterated the significance of the Quad in supporting a free, open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific. Modi invited Biden to the next Quad Leaders’ summit scheduled to be hosted by India in 2024.
Additionally, the leaders called for continued efforts to enhance the India-US strategic partnership across various dimensions and emphasized their support for building robust global semiconductor supply chains.
They underlined the importance of shared values, including freedom, democracy, human rights, inclusion, pluralism, and equal opportunities for all citizens, which strengthen the relationship between their countries.
Following their productive meeting, Prime Minister Modi expressed his satisfaction with the discussions and highlighted the role of India-US friendship in advancing global welfare.
Reports suggest that Modi hosted President Biden for dinner during his visit to India. President Biden was warmly welcomed upon his arrival in New Delhi by Union Minister of State Gen. V.K. Singh (retd).
The leaders also discussed 5G and 6G technologies, highlighting the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Bharat 6G Alliance and Next G Alliance, facilitating deeper cooperation between vendors and operators. They acknowledged the establishment of two Joint Task Forces focused on Open RAN collaboration and research and development in 5G/6G technologies. A 5G Open RAN pilot project will be conducted by a leading Indian telecom operator in partnership with a U.S. Open RAN manufacturer before field deployment.
Furthermore, they expressed their support for building resilient global semiconductor supply chains, citing investments by Microchip Technology, Inc., and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in expanding their research and development operations in India. Microchip plans to invest approximately US$300 million, while AMD intends to invest US$400 million in India over the next five years.
Also read: G20 Summit: Progress Made in Bridging Differences for Joint Declaration
