India’s ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, has said PM Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden share good relations, which was evident at the Quad virtual summit.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Taranjit Singh Sandhu said, “You'll recall that in 2014 and 2016, the equation between PM Modi and then Vice President Joe Biden was extremely good. Not only at the lunch he hosted in 2014, but also at the 2016 joint session of Congress where then Vice President Biden presided.”
The ambassador further added, “At the Quad summit, you could see that in the first five minutes of public viewing. The general atmosphere was very good amongst all the leaders. India-US relationship is much deeper and this was very much reflected in the equation between PM Modi and President Biden.”
“The desire was to have an in-person summit, but due to the pandemic it wasn't possible. You've seen in the joint statement that there's a clear indication that foreign ministers will meet and by year-end all 4 leaders have pledged to have an in-person summit,” said ambassador Taranjit Sandhu.
He also spoke on US Defence Secy Lloyd Austin’s oncoming visit to India and said that it is a “reflection of the importance which the US accords to India” and the importance of the bilateral relationship.
In their first ever summit, leaders of the four-nation Quad on Friday finalised a landmark initiative under which huge investments will be made in India to create additional production capacities to roll out a billion coronavirus vaccine doses by 2022 for exports to the Indo-Pacific region.
The Quad leaders -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Australian PM Scott Morrison and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga, vowed to strive for an Indo-Pacific region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democraticvalues, and unconstrained by coercion.
The Quad leaders also decided to create three working groups in areas of vaccine, climate crisis and critical and emerging technology.