Modi: Ready to support inclusive Indo-Pacific Eco Framework

TOKYO: India on Monday joined a US-led initiative to set up an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) to bind partner countries to achieve common goals with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that Delhi will work with the stakeholders to make it an “inclusive and flexible” structure to pave the way for development, peace and prosperity in the region.

Rolling out the IPEF a day ahead of the Quad summit, US President Joe Biden said 12 countries have joined the new initiative which is largely seen as an attempt to counter growing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region. The countries joining at the launch of the US-led initiative are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

In his comments at the launch ceremony of the new initiative, Prime Minister Modi said that announcement of IPEF is a declaration of a collective desire to make the Indo-Pacific an “engine of global economic growth” and called for finding common and creative solutions to tackle economic challenges of the region.

Moreover, India and the US signed an Investment Incentive Agreement, (IIA). The agreement provides a framework for DFC to continue to expand its investment in India -- for private sector-led projects in critical areas such as renewable energy, agriculture, healthcare, and SME financing.