Washington: US President Joe Biden interacts with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian PM Scott Morrison and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga, during a virtual QUAD summit, Friday, March 12, 2021.
It's great to see you, this is how US President Joe Biden greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the first summit of the Quad or Quadrilateral coalition on Friday. Besides Modi and Biden, the virtual summit of the Quad was attended by Australian PM Scott Morrison and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga.
It was the first time Modi and Biden came face-to-face after the American leader took charge in Washington in January.
"A free and open Indo-Pacific is essential to each of our futures," Biden said in his opening remarks.
"The Quad is going to be a vital arena for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. And I look forward to working closely with — with all of you in the coming years," he added.
The four Quad member countries have been resolving to uphold a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific amid growing Chinese assertiveness in the region.
"We are united by our democratic values, and our commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific," Modi said in his initial remarks.
"Our agenda today - covering areas like vaccines, climate change and emerging technologies - makes the Quad a force for global good," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
