China may be high on Quad agenda

China is expected to be a primary focus of the Quad Leaders’ summit on Saturday, while India and the United States will sign two significant agreements — one on an Indo-US drug framework and another on an economic framework for the Indo-Pacific region.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in the US from September 21-23 to attend the Quad summit in Wilmington, Delaware, and the UN’s ‘Summit of the Future’ in New York.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced today that Modi will hold separate bilateral meetings with US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

When asked about a potential meeting between Modi and former US President Donald Trump, Misri refrained from confirming it, stating, “I cannot specifically tell you whether meetings have been fixed or not.” Similarly, on a possible meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Misri added, “I am not aware of such a request.”

In the US, National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby, when asked about the Quad agenda, remarked, “I think (China) will certainly be high on the agenda. It would be irresponsible (not to) talk about the challenges caused by aggressive Chinese military action and unfair trade practices.”

In New Delhi, when asked about China being discussed at the Quad, Misri stated, “All key challenges confronting the international community on development, peace, and security will be discussed.”

The Quad will also focus on health security, climate change, critical and emerging technologies, infrastructure, connectivity, maritime security, and counter-terrorism. Additionally, a new initiative called the ‘Cancer Moonshot’ will be implemented to prevent, detect, treat, and alleviate the impact of cancer.

Misri provided details on the Modi-Biden bilateral meeting, which will take place before the Quad summit. He confirmed that two agreements are set to be signed: one related to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on an India-US Drug Framework.

Regarding the IPEF, Misri clarified that India was not joining the ‘trade pillar’ of the framework. “Work and discussion on the trade pillar continues,” he said, explaining that the IPEF consists of four separate ‘pillars’. India has already joined the ‘supply chain pillar’, with the remaining two focusing on a clean economy and a fair economy. As part of the bilateral agreements, India will deposit its papers for ratification with the US Department of State.

In New York, Modi will also attend a ‘business roundtable’ with CEOs of leading US companies in cutting-edge areas such as Artificial Intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, and biotechnology. Bilateral meetings with several other world leaders are also planned in New York, though details are still being finalised, Misri noted.