PM Modi's America itinerary: Quad at White House on Sept 24, UNGA on Sept 25

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the first in-person Quad leaders' summit in Washington on September 24, said MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday. On September 25, he will address the UN general debate of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) at its 76th session. While PM Modi is in the US, he will also have a bilateral meeting with President Biden, said Bagchi, while addressing a press conference.

"We also look forward to bilateral meetings with Quad leaders as well as bilateral meetings with some other leaders while the Prime Minister is in New York on September 25," he said.

US President Joe Biden will host the first-ever in-person Quad summit at the White House on September 24, with Prime Minister Modi, Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia, and Japanese premier Yoshihide Suga. Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is a strategic forum that comprises India, Japan, Australia, and the United States of America. India has also confirmed PM Modi travelling to the United States for the summit.

According to the White House, the Quad Leaders will be focused on deepening their ties and advancing practical cooperation in areas such as combatting COVID, addressing the climate crisis, partnering on emerging technologies and cyberspace, and promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific.

China, not okay with Quad Summit?

The Quad summit will take place amidst China's aggressive behaviour in the resource-rich South China Sea. Beijing claims almost all of the 1.3 million square miles of the South China Sea as its sovereign territory and has been building military bases on artificial islands in the region, claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

After US President Joe Biden announced about hosting the first-ever Quad Summit, the Chinese government hit out at its formation, saying that the group is "close, exclusive, and targets small circles... unpopular and have no way out." During Thursday's press conference, Bagchi asserted that the Quad summit stands on its own and its partners attach a lot of importance to the group.

In March, President Biden hosted the first-ever summit of the Quad leaders in the virtual format that vowed to strive for an Indo-Pacific region that is free, open, inclusive, anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion, sending a subtle message to China. In November 2017, India, Japan, the US, and Australia gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the Quad to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence.

(Image: ANI/AP)