Agencies
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit the United States at the end of September.
There is no official confirmation as of now but ANI has learnt that preparations for the visit are underway. A source familiar with developments said the schedule is yet to be finalised and is at a premature stage.
According to this tentative plan, September 23-24 is being worked as the expected dates for Modi’s US visit.
Modi last visited the US in 2019 when he and then President Donald Trump addressed a huge diaspora event in Houston.
After Washington, PM Modi is likely to visit New York to attend the annual high-level United Nations General Assembly session.
India is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and its month-long presidency has just ended. Afghanistan, which has plunged into crisis following the Taliban takeover, will be the key topic at the UNGA this time.
It is learnt that UNGA will be in a hybrid format this year.
There is no official confirmation of the visit so far, however, if it materialises, it will be PM Modi’s first physical overseas visit and a first in-person meeting with US President Joe Biden after he took office in January this year. Modi and Biden have met virtually at various multilateral meetings like the Quad and G7 meetings.
In Washington, while talking to reporters, foreign secretary Shringla indicated that there is a possibility of a Quad meet.
“I mean, look, I can’t comment on that, but the fact of the matter is that if there is a summit, prime minister has already said that he would, he would be happy to attend that summit. I think other leaders have also said that they will be ready so it’s all a question of, you know, getting the leaders together and going ahead,” he said.
“If the leaders come in they would come because of this (Quad) meeting, as you know the UNGA is this time is a truncated version, it’s a hybrid version. Very few heads of state and government will actually attend it. So, attending that meeting in person is not a great priority. But then again, I mean, it’s a fluid situation so let’s see how that goes,” he added.
Political instability in Japan has also cast a shadow on the proposed Quad meeting. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said he will not run for party re-election as a leader this month.
Notably, foreign secretary Shringla, who is in Washington, has held discussions with several seniors officials of the Biden administration, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar also held series of telephonic conversations with his counterpart Blinken.
The US has supported India during the evacuation of its citizens after Kabul fell to the Taliban on August 15
Washington also offered assistance during the deadly second wave of COVID-19 earlier this year.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
