Biden and Modi to have bilateral meeting in New Delhi on Sept 8

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will travel to India next week to participate in the G20 Summit and will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 8 on the sidelines of the historic meeting, the White House has announced.

India, President of the G20, will host global leaders for the Summit scheduled to take place on September 9 and 10 in New Delhi.

During the Summit, Biden will commend Modi for his leadership of the G20, the White House said.

“On Thursday (September 7), the President will travel to New Delhi, India to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit. On Friday, the President will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” the White House said in its week ahead schedule of the president released Friday night.

On Saturday (September 9) and Sunday (September 10), the President will participate in the G20 summit, where he and G20 partners will discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues, including the clean energy transition and combatting climate change.

They will also mitigate the economic and social impacts of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, and increase the capacity of multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to better fight poverty, including by addressing global challenges, the White House said.

“While in New Delhi, the President will also commend Prime Minister Modi’s leadership of the G20 and reaffirm the US commitment to the G20 as the premier forum of economic cooperation, including by hosting it in 2026,” it said.

The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies. The members represent around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of the global trade and about two-thirds of the world population.

Biden will travel to Hanoi, Vietnam on September 10.

“While in Hanoi, the President 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,” it said.

“The leaders will explore opportunities to promote the growth of a technology-focused and innovation-driven Vietnamese economy, expand our people-to-people ties through education exchanges and workforce development programs, combat climate change, and increase peace, prosperity, and stability in the region,” said the White House.