PM Modi arrives at White House for bilateral meeting with Biden

In a tweet moments before his meeting with PM Modi, Biden said he is looking forward to strengthening the deep ties between the two countries.

"This morning I'm hosting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House for a bilateral meeting. I look forward to strengthening the deep ties between our two nations, working to uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific, and tackling everything from COVID-19 to climate change," Biden said in a tweet.

During the meeting, the two leaders will review the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership between the two countries. They will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.

Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership between the two countries is anchored in "mutual trust, shared interests, goodwill and robust engagement of their citizens" and covers a wide gamut of areas including trade and defence.

The two countries also have strategic convergence on Indo-Pacific. This is the first meeting between the two leaders since Biden assumed office as US President in January this year.

The meeting is taking place in the backdrop of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the issue is likely to figure in the discussions.

The frequency of high-level visits and exchanges between India and the US has gone up significantly of late. PM Modi had visited the US in 2019 and then US President Donald Trump visited India in 2020. The two countries have also held 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.

Since January, PM Modi and Biden have participated in three summits. Two of them were hosted by President Biden - the Quad virtual summit in March and the Climate Change Summit in April which was also held virtually. PM Modi also virtually took part in the G7 Summit held at Cornwall in the UK in June this year.

The bilateral meeting between the Prime Minister and the US President will be followed by the first in-person Quad leaders' summit.

On Thursday, the Prime Minister held bilateral meetings with United States Vice President Kamala Harris and Prime Ministers of Australia and Japan. (ANI)