PM Modi, Joe Biden to discuss ways to fight 'common enemy terrorism', says senior US official

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden will have the opportunity to talk about the broader threat of terrorism and situation in Afghanistan, said a senior Biden administration official, adding that they will discuss ways to work together to fight a common enemy of terrorism.

Prime Minister Modi and Biden will hold the first in-person bilateral meet on September 24 in the US. The meeting will take place before the first-in-person Quad Leaders meeting.

In a briefing, the official said: "This will be the first in-person meeting [of President Biden] with Prime Minister Modi on Friday, and it will be an opportunity to really go from strength to strength from the point of view of our global partnership with India, by working together to uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific and our two countries were both vital in the global fight against COVID-19. And by taking conservative actions to address the climate crisis."

The official said that the discussion between Biden and PM Modi will give momentum to the Quad discussion.

"In the bilateral talks with Prime Minister Modi, the two leaders will have the opportunity to talk about the broader threat of counterterrorism, and the situation in Afghanistan and how we can work together to fight, a common enemy of terrorism, as well as to talk about a range of issues that development will have the opportunity to compare notes," the official said.

The official also sketched out how President Biden will use his speech at the United Nations on Tuesday to stress that ending the military engagement in Afghanistan will open a new chapter of "intensive diplomacy."

President Biden will leave the White House on Monday afternoon to travel to New York. Biden is to meet U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres late on Monday afternoon, give his first speech as president to the U.N. General Assembly at mid-morning on Tuesday, meet Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison afterward in New York, then return to Washington to meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

"The president will essentially drive home the message that ending the war in Afghanistan closed a chapter focused on war and opens a chapter focused on ... purposeful, effective, intensive American diplomacy," the official said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to the United States this week to attend the first in-person Quad Leaders Summit and address the UN general debate.

He will also have a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden. This will be PM Modi's second visit abroad since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. His first such visit was to Bangladesh earlier this year.

During the significant visit to the US, PM Modi would on September 24 participate in the Leaders' Summit of the Quadrilateral Framework in Washington along with his US, Japanese and Australian counterparts.

The bilateral meeting with the US President is also scheduled for the day. This is PM Modi's first visit to the US since Joe Biden became the President.

( With inputs from ANI )