Images: Reuters Berita 24 English - India announced that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden had established &qu...
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| Images: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - India announced that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden had established "substantive conclusions" in discussions on Tuesday to strengthen their commercial and defense ties, despite Modi did not rebuke Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
The leaders were in Tokyo for a conference of the Quad countries, which include the US, India, Japan, and Australia. Despite pressure from the United States, only India has not criticized Russia's incursion.
"Discussed measures to strengthen cooperation between the two nations in trade, investment, technology, defense, and P2P ties," Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi wrote on Twitter.
"With substantive accomplishments, the bilateral collaboration gained depth and drive."
Biden informed Modi that the US-India relationship would be "among the closest we have on the planet."
The White House reported in a statement that Biden had opposed Russia's invasion of Ukraine during their discussion, but there was no indication of Modi doing so. According to the report, Modi has agreed to provide humanitarian supplies to Ukraine.
India's foreign secretary said the leaders of the other Quad countries understood its position on Ukraine, asking for a halt to hostilities and addressing issues via diplomacy, at a news conference in Tokyo.
"There was a general and positive recognition of India's stand on Ukraine," Vinay Mohan Kwatra remarked.
For decades, Russia has been India's largest armaments supplier, and India is fearful of Russia being pushed closer to China, with whom India has severe border disputes.
To entice India away from Russia, the US has offered to sell more defense equipment and energy in recent months. India has also joined the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, a US-led trade pact that Biden announced this week.
India will become an associate member of the US-backed Combined Military Forces-Bahrain, according to the White House. China is not a member of the marine cooperation, which has 34 countries from around the world.
According to Kwatra, Modi encouraged Biden to encourage more American companies to manufacture defense equipment in India.
