Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to US President-elect Joe Biden to congratulate him on his win and reiterate India's firm commitment to its strategic partnership with the United States. PM Modi also offered his congratulations to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and said that her success was a matter of pride for the Indian-American community.
"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 - the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Region," the Prime Minister tweeted after the phone call.
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“I also conveyed warm congratulations for VP-elect @KamalaHarris. 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.”
Of the three issues that PM Modi flagged, the first two, Indo-Pacific and Covid-19, are areas of continuity between the Trump and Biden presidencies, while climate change is an old favourite of the Democratic administration.
US President-elect Joe Biden has said that he looks forward to working closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on shared global challenges, including containing COVID-19, launching the global economic recovery and maintaining a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, according to his transition.
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This was the first interaction between the two leaders after Democrat Biden defeated incumbent Republican president Donald Trump in the November 3 US presidential election.
According to the Biden-Harris Transition, “the president-elect noted that he looks forward to working closely with the prime minister on shared global challenges, including containing COVID-19 and defending against future health crises, tackling the threat of climate change, launching the global economic recovery, strengthening democracy at home and abroad, and maintaining a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region”.
Biden thanked Modi for his congratulations and “expressed his desire to strengthen and expand the US-India strategic partnership alongside the first vice president of South Asian descent,” said a readout of the call.
