President Joe Biden of the United States arrived in New Delhi on September 8 to participate in the G20 Leaders Summit, scheduled for September 9-10. His visit began with a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where they discussed various aspects of their strategic partnership, building on commitments made during Modi’s historic state visit to the U.S. in June 2023.
Significant Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were finalized during the meeting. One involved the Bharat 6G Alliance and Next G Alliance, promoting public-private sector collaboration in networking and telecommunications. Another memorandum of understanding (MoU) was forged between Indian universities, represented by the IIT Council, and the Association of American Universities (AAU). This MoU marked the establishment of the India-U.S. Global Challenges Institute, with an initial pledge of a minimum of $10 million. This institute aims to advance science and technology through collaboration.
An “Innovation Handshake” agenda was agreed upon under the India-U.S. Commercial Dialogue, facilitating connections between start-ups, private equity and venture capital firms, corporate investment departments, and government officials in both countries’ innovation ecosystems. This program will host two events, one in each country, during the fall.
In the defense sector, India’s Ministry of Defense submitted a Letter of Request to procure 31 General Atomics MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft to enhance India’s armed forces’ intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.
To advance progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and the U.S. Development Finance Corporation exchanged letters of intent to establish a renewable infrastructure investment fund with a total commitment of up to $1 billion. Leaders also reviewed discussions from the first meeting of the India-U.S. Renewable Energy Technologies Action Platform (RE-TAP) held in August.
President Biden congratulates PM Modi and Indian scientists on the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon’s south pole and the launch of Aditya L-1. Both ISRO and NASA are working on a joint mission to the International Space Station in 2024.
The meeting also covered various other topics, including critical and emerging technologies, biotechnology, global semiconductor supply chains, climate, energy transition, energy security, and India’s role as the G20 president. President Biden reiterated his support for India’s permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.
