Modi flies nonstop to US onboard new Air India One, to invide Biden for early visit to India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will this week extend an invitation to United States President Joe Biden for an early visit to India.

Modi left New Delhi for Washington DC on Wednesday onboard the new Air India One, one of the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft the national carrier inducted in its fleet a few months back, primarily for ferrying the VVIPs. The aircraft will fly non-stop and land in Washington DC early on Thursday (Wednesday evening according to local time in the US capital), without requiring any refuelling halt in Frankfurt or Berlin, unlike the previous versions of the Air India One.

“I will review the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership with President Biden and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest,” the Prime Minister said, in a statement issued shortly before his departure from New Delhi.

Read | Modi-Biden bilateral meet will strengthen India-US relation, boost Quad, says White House official

Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Biden at the White House on Friday. This is going to be the first in-person meeting between the two leaders after Biden took over as the US President on January 20 this year, succeeding Donald Trump.

A source in New Delhi said that Modi would invite Biden for an early visit to India.

Modi will also have a separate meeting with Biden’s Vice President Kamala Harris, who scripted history when she became the first woman and the first Indian-American to take the second-highest office in the US federal government.

The PM said that he would explore opportunities for cooperation between India and the US “particularly in the area of science and technology”.

Modi will also attend the first in-person summit of the Quad at the White House on Friday. The summit will be hosted by the US President and will be attended by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. He will also have bilateral meetings with Suga and Morrison.

The Prime Minister will also visit New York to address the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly. His speech at the UNGA will focus on “the pressing global challenges including the Covid-19 pandemic, the need to combat terrorism, climate change and other important issues”, he said in his statement before taking off from New Delhi.

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