PM Modi in US: what's on the agenda

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States is taking place amid complex and ongoing geopolitical changes. Here’s a look at the issues that are likely to dominate his trip.

Taliban’s takeover of Kabul and the changing alignments by international leaders will be a big part of the discussions across all of PM’s engagements from bilateral meetings to Quad summit to the United Nations General Assembly debate.

India has already expressed its reluctance to accept Taliban as Afghanistan’s govt saying that the power transition was not inclusive but what would be of particular concern is Pakistan’s ties with the militant group and its involvement in the strife-ridden country.

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This is also PM’s first visit to US since Donald Trump was voted out and Joe Biden assumed office. Given the huge support PM Modi and Donald Trump expressed for each other in the past years, the bilateral meet between President Joe and PM Modi on September 24 will be crucial for ties between the two countries.

Another first during this trip will be the first-ever in-person Quad summit. India, US, Australia and Japan are members of the 4-nation bloc that was formed to counter China and secure the Indo-Pacific region. Apart from Afghanistan and China, the leaders are likely to discuss cooperation in fighting Covid-19, vaccine manufacturing and climate change.

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While President Biden will be hosting the Quad summit at White House on September 24, PM Modi will also be holding bilateral talks with Australian PM Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on September 23.

The global struggles brought on by the pandemic and the importance of to global cooperation to get entire populations vaccinated at the earliest will also be an overriding concern.

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