PM Modi meets Joe Biden; India joins 2 more IPEF pillars, inks pact with US to combat illicit drug menace

New Delhi: India and the United States agreed to expand cooperation to disrupt production and international trafficking of illicit drugs as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden had a bilateral meeting on Saturday.

The other highlight of the Modi-Biden meeting was India’s accession to the Clean Economy and Fair Economy agreements of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which was launched by the US and 13 other nations in 2022 to counter the hegemonic aspirations of China.

Modi hugged Biden as he drove to the personal residence of the US president at Greenville in Delaware, shortly after flying from New Delhi to Philadelphia.

This was the last meeting between the two leaders as Biden will leave the White House in Washington DC and retire from public life on January 20, when he will be succeeded by whoever will win the November 5 presidential elections in the US.

Modi thanked Biden for his pioneering role in strengthening the India-US relationship and for several new initiatives, such as the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken were present during the meeting between the two leaders.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of a bilateral drug policy framework and an MoU, which set the stage for India and the US to expand cooperation and collaboration to disrupt the illicit production and international trafficking of illicit drugs, including synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl and Amphetamine Type Stimulants and illicit use of their precursors.

The two sides committed to a holistic public health partnership to prevent and treat illicit drug use, address workforce shortages and skilling requirements, and showcase a secure, resilient, reliable, and growing pharmaceutical supply chain as a model for the world.

India had in November 2023 joined the US and 12 other nations to sign the Supply Chain Resilience Agreement of the IPEF. By formally signing the two pacts on Clean Economy and Fair Economy as well as another overarching agreement on Saturday, India has now completed the formalities for joining three of the four pillars of the IPEF, even as it stayed out of the fourth pillar – Fair and Resilient Trade – primarily due to due to concerns over commitments required on the environment, labour, digital commerce, and public procurement.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken were present during the meeting between the two leaders.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of a bilateral drug policy framework and an MoU, which set the stage for India and the US to expand cooperation and collaboration to disrupt the illicit production and international trafficking of illicit drugs, including synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl and Amphetamine Type Stimulants and illicit use of their precursors.

The two sides committed to a holistic public health partnership to prevent and treat illicit drug use, address workforce shortages and skilling requirements, and showcase a secure, resilient, reliable, and growing pharmaceutical supply chain as a model for the world.

India had in November 2023 joined the US and 12 other nations to sign the Supply Chain Resilience Agreement of the IPEF. By formally signing the two pacts on Clean Economy and Fair Economy as well as another overarching agreement on Saturday, India has now completed the formalities for joining three of the four pillars of the IPEF, even as it stayed out of the fourth pillar – Fair and Resilient Trade – primarily due to due to concerns over commitments required on the environment, labour, digital commerce, and public procurement.

The Modi-Biden bilateral meeting will be followed by the 4th in-person summit of the Quad in the early hours on Sunday (Indian Standard Time). The two leaders will be joined by Fumio Kishida and Anthony Albanese, Japanese and Australian prime ministers, for the summit of the four-nation coalition, which was launched in 2007 and was relaunched in 2017 to counter China’s bid to expand its geopolitical influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

“Today’s programme will be focused on the Quad Summit and the bilateral meeting with @POTUS @JoeBiden. I am sure the discussions throughout the day will contribute to making our planet better and addressing key global challenges,” Modi posted on X as he was received by a cheering crowd of Indian Americans after landing at the airport in Philadelphia earlier in the day.

“I thank President Biden for hosting me at his residence in Greenville, Delaware. Our talks were extremely fruitful. We had the opportunity to discuss regional and global issues during the meeting,” he posted after meeting with the US president.

“The United States' partnership with India is stronger, closer, and more dynamic than any time in history.

Prime Minister Modi, each time we sit down, I'm struck by our ability to find new areas of cooperation. Today was no different," Biden posted on X after he hosted Modi.

Biden took over as the US president in January 2021. This is going to be the first time he will host foreign leaders in his hometown. The White House projected it as “a reflection of his deep personal relationships with each of the leaders of the Quad”.’

The Agreement on Fair Economy of the IPEF intends to create a more transparent and predictable business environment, which can spur greater trade and investment in the markets of the member countries; promote a level playing field for businesses and workers; enhance efforts to prevent and combat corruption by strengthening anti-corruption frameworks, establishing confidential systems, and promote participation of groups outside public sector. It also creates a framework to support efforts to improve tax transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes between competent authorities, domestic resource mobilization, and tax administration; and to support capacity building and provide technical assistance.

The Agreement on Clean Economy to accelerate efforts of the IPEF partners towards energy security and transition, climate resilience and adaptation, and greenhouse gas emissions mitigation; find/develop innovative ways of reducing dependence on fossil fuel energy; promote technical cooperation, workforce development, capacity building, and research collaborations; and collaborate to facilitate development, access, and deployment of clean energy and climate-friendly technologies. This agreement will facilitate investments, concessional financing, joint collaborative projects, workforce development, and Technical Assistance and Capacity Building for industries, in particular MSMEs, to further integrate Indian companies in the value chains, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. These cooperative activities will be undertaken through joint collaborative actions such as Cooperative Work Programmes and the IPEF Catalytic Capital Fund.