Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit the US this week for the upcoming Quad alliance summit with the other countries involved. Before his meeting with US President Joe Biden, Modi may be meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris.
People familiar with the matter revealed to Times Now News that Modi will likely be holding a meeting with Harris prior to his meeting with Biden. The bilateral meeting with Harris, who is also half-Indian, will take place before his one-on-one with Biden and ahead of the upcoming Quad summit that will take place at the White House on September 24. Aside from Biden and Harris, Modi is also expected to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
Modi’s visit to the US comes in line with the Quad summit, with the four nations discussing key issues such as the fallout from the Afghanistan withdrawal, the Indo-Pacific, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the climate crisis. Modi will be meeting with Suga and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on September 23, according to officials from Washington and New Delhi.
Officials familiar with the matter revealed that Modi is expected to look into the common objective of a free and open Indo-Pacific region as India looks to become more involved. This comes as China is making sweeping claims over the majority of the South China Sea, angering the surrounding nations that have claims to parts of the waters, including Taiwan. The west has refused to acknowledge China’s claims of sovereignty over the waters that were already ruled against in 2016 by an international tribunal.
Morrison is also expected to explain the recent AUKUS deal made with the UK to Modi.
In other news, Harris made a surprise visit to her alma mater Howard University during the school’s football game over the weekend. Harris helped start the inaugural Truth and Service Classic football game between Howard University and Hampton University through a coin toss before the kickoff.
The recent game also marked the first college football game that was played in the Washington DC Audi Field. Harris later shared a video of her visit on Twitter. “It’s great to be back at The Mecca. We all know who the real HU is,” tweeted the vice president.