Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to US President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday, with the two leaders discussing the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Region, while reiterating their firm commitment to the strategic bilateral partnership.
This was the first interaction between the two leaders after Democrat Biden defeated incumbent president Donald Trump in the US presidential election.
"Spoke to US President-elect Joe Biden on phone to congratulate him. We reiterated our firm commitment to the Indo-US strategic partnership and discussed our shared priorities and concerns -- Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Region," Modi said in a tweet.
The prime minister also conveyed his congratulations to US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
"Her success is a matter of great pride and inspiration for members of the vibrant Indian-American community, who are a tremendous source of strength for Indo-US relations," he said.
The interaction came on a day External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar exuded confidence that the ties between India and the US will expand further under Biden's administration, noting that the US president-elect was part of the period when the bilateral relations underwent a radical transformation.
Biden is known to be a strong proponent of closer India-US ties since his days as a senator in the 1970s and played a key role in getting the approval of the Senate for the bilateral civil nuclear deal in 2008.
In the midst of hectic negotiations between the two countries to conclude the civil nuclear deal, Biden was a critical ally of India in the Senate.
The deal had laid a strong foundation for the deepening of ties between the two leading democracies of the world.
The strategic and defence ties between India and the US witnessed major expansion during Barack Obama's presidency and Biden, as the vice president, had played a key role in it.
In his campaign documents, Biden spoke about his vision for the US-India partnership as well as on standing with India in facing threats in the region.
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU