New Delhi: During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States from September 21-23, India will sign up to join two more pillars -- one pertaining to clean energy and the other dealing with anti-corruption efforts -- of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). Besides, India will also ratify an "overarching agreement" on the IPEF and sign a separate Drugs Policy Framework pact with the United States.
Briefing the media on the Prime Minister's forthcoming US visit, the foreign secretary said that the Quad summit at Wilmington, Delaware, which the Prime Minister will attend this Saturday, will be followed by a Cancer Moonshot event, marking the Quad initiative to "detect, treat and alleviate" cancer in countries of the Indo-Pacific region.
Talking about the forthcoming visit during which Mr Modi will, apart from attending the Quad summit, also address the Indian diaspora at an event in New York on Sunday and also address the UN Summit of the Future on Monday, the foreign secretary said the visit will include an important bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden, who will be hosting the Quad Summit in his hometown. He added that India was to host the Quad Summit this year but had "agreed" to exchange turns of hosting the Summit with the US following an American request.
When asked whether Mr Modi will also be having a bilateral meeting with former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Mr Misri indicated that such a meeting had not been finalised as yet.
Another important engagement of the PM on Sunday will be a tech and business roundtable with prominent CEOs of companies dealing with cutting-edge technology in the fields of artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and quantum computing.
Mr Misri said that Mr Modi will also be having bilateral meetings with other heads of government during his visit to Wilmington and New York, including with his Australian and Japanese Prime Ministers.
Asked whether defence pacts between the two nations could be signed during the visit, Mr Mistri said that there are other issues under discussion and that "maybe a few more steps are required" before an agreement is inked on these".
There are indications that New Delhi is also working along with other nations for an acceptable peace formula to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The foreign secretary said India is having a "set of conversations" with its important partners on the issue of the conflict that has raged on for more than two-and-a-half years. He, however, indicated that one will "need to wait" to see whether a consensus is possible on ways to end the conflict.
Asked about pro-Khalistan extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun's civil lawsuit in a US Federal court against the Indian government in the wake of an alleged plot to kill him last year on American soil, the foreign secretary said that it is a "completely unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputation".
On American allegations that two Indian nationals, including an Indian government employee, were involved in a failed plot to murder Pannun last year, the foreign secretary reiterated the Indian stand that the allegations are being probed by a "high-level committee" set up (earlier) by New Delhi and that Indian and American security agencies are in touch on the matter.
