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After attending the G20 Summit in New Delhi, US President Joe Biden departed for Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday. He is scheduled to meet Vietnamese General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trọng and other key leaders to discuss ways to deepen cooperation between the two nations further.
Key takeaways from Joe Biden's Delhi visit
As Biden departs, here is a look at the key takeaways of his 3-day visit to India, which included a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
G20 Summit 2023
During his visit to Delhi, Biden attended the G20 Summit under India's Presidency.
Biden said the G20 Summit held in India proved that the group can still drive solutions to "most pressing issues." He noted that the global economy is suffering from overlapping shocks of the climate crisis.
The summit also witnessed the adoption of the New Delhi Leadership Declaration with a 100 per cent consensus.
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Sharing a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, US President Joe Biden stated, "At a moment when the global economy is suffering from the overlapping shocks of the climate crisis, fragility, and conflict, this year's Summit proved that the G20 can still drive solutions to our most pressing issues."
'Game-changing' India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor
At the G20 Summit, India, the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy, and the European Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. Biden called it a "game-changing" regional investment.
The project includes India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and the US.
Biden said that this project is about more than just laying tracks. "I'm proud to announce that the US, India, Saudi Arabia, UAE, France, Germany, Italy and EU finalised a historic agreement for a new India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor," the US President posted on X.
"This project is about more than just laying tracks. This is a game-changing regional investment," he added.
PM Modi announced the ambitious project on the sidelines of the G20 Summit and was flanked by Biden, Saudi Arabia Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and leaders of the EU.
After the launch, PM Modi said, "I cordially welcome you all at this event. I am very happy to co-chair this event with my friend President Joe Biden. Today we all have seen the conclusion of a historic and important agreement. In the coming days, it will be an effective medium of economic integration between India, South Asia, and Europe."
Global Biofuel Alliance
PM Modi on Saturday launched the Global Biofuel Alliance in the presence of Biden, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Argentina President Alberto Fernandez and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The Global Biofuel Alliance is one of the priorities under India's G20 Presidency. As leading biofuel producers and consumers, Brazil, India, and the United States will work together during the next few months towards developing a Global Biofuels Alliance along with other interested countries.
Bilateral meeting with PM Modi
On Friday, just after he landed in New Delhi, Biden held a bilateral meeting with PM Modi. During the meeting, India and the US settled the seventh and last outstanding World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute.
US President Biden and PM Modi welcomed the completion of the notification process regarding negotiations for a commercial agreement between GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautical Limited, according to a White House statement.
The two leaders commended the progress in implementing the futuristic and wide-ranging outcomes of PM Modi's historic State visit to the US in June 2023, including under the India-U.S. Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).
The India-US joint statement further said that the leaders also welcomed the sustained momentum in bilateral cooperation in the areas of defence, trade, investment, education, health, research, innovation, culture and people-to-people ties.
The two leaders also reiterated the importance of nuclear energy as a necessary resource to meet both nations' climate, energy transition, and energy security needs. They also reaffirmed their commitment to deepen and diversify the India-US defence partnership through expanded cooperation in new and emerging domains such as space and artificial intelligence and accelerated defence industrial collaboration.
PM Modi and US President Biden welcomed intensified consultations between the relevant entities on both sides to expand opportunities for facilitating India-US collaboration in nuclear energy, including developing next-generation small modular reactor technologies in a collaborative mode.
The US reaffirmed its support for India's membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and committed to continue engagement with like-minded partners to advance this goal. Biden welcomed the issuance of a Letter of Request from the Ministry of Defence to procure 31 General Atomics MQ-9B (16 Sky Guardian and 15 Sea Guardian) remotely piloted aircraft and their associated equipment.
After the meeting, both the leaders lauded the India-US relations and said that the friendship between the two nations will continue to play a great role in furthering global good.
Dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu
On Saturday, Bided attended the dinner hosted by President Murmu on Saturday night. Biden engaged with world leaders at the dinner organised at Bharat Mandapam.
Visit to Rajghat and homage to Mahatma Gandhi
Apart from attending the G20 Summit and his bilateral meeting with PM Modi, Biden visited Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi.
Meeting with US Embassy staffers
After arriving in New Delhi, Biden also met with the US Embassy staffers and their families. In a post on X, the White House said, "President Biden met with US Embassy staff and their families today after arriving in New Delhi."
Biden's agenda for Vietnam visit
The US Embassy and Consulate in Vietnam, in a statement on September 6, said, "President Joseph R Biden Jr will travel to Hanoi, Vietnam on September 10, 2023. While in Hanoi, President Biden will meet with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other key leaders to discuss ways to further deepen cooperation between the United States and Vietnam."
According to the statement, the two leaders will explore opportunities to promote the growth of a technology-focused and innovation-driven Vietnamese economy, expand people-to-people ties through education exchanges and workforce development programs, combat climate change, and increase peace, prosperity, and stability in the region.
(With agency inputs)
