DURING the first ten years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure, India had carved a place for itself in the hightable global geopolitics. His first visit to the US in his third term showed the country emerging as the fulcrum around which conflicted world powers could gravitate in search of solutions.
PM Modi’s three-day visit to the United States, from September 21-23, was significant for more reasons than one. It saw him engage with Quad leaders, meet the US President Joe Biden in the latter’s hometown, preside over a mega gathering of Indian diaspora, interact with top honchos of the US tech sector, and make a renewed pitch for peace at the UN ‘Summit for the Future’.
The Prime Minister also met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a host of other world leaders to explore pathways to peace amid raging Russia-Ukraine and Middle East wars.
Quad future course
At the Quad Summit, PM Modi chartered the future course of the grouping through initiatives like joint port development in the Indo-Pacific, creation of an air logistics network in the region, and laying the foundation for cooperation in biotechnology and quantum computing, ahead of the next Summit in India in 2025.
Addressing the 79th UN General Assembly session in New York, he said India stood for global peace and development and stressed the need for urgent institutional reforms in the UN and other multilateral forums.
Bilateral meetings that he had in the US were no less fruitful. PM Modi and President Biden discussed a wide range of issues, including the RussiaUkraine conflict and agreed to further India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.
During his bilateral meetings with the other world leaders in New York, the PM flagged “cyber, maritime and space” emerging as “new theatres of conflict”, apart from terrorism. He pitched for “global digital governance” to ensure that national sovereignty and integrity are upheld.
PM Modi also suggested transformation of institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to meet the aspirations of the Global South. “Reform is the key to relevance,” he said, and referred to the inclusion of the African Union in the G20 under India’s presidency last year as an example.
As during his previous visits, PM Modi addressed 15,000 members of the Indian diaspora at Nassau Coliseum, Long Island, acknowledging their role as brand ambassadors of India. He said India is now a “strong voice” of the Global South, and was taking up the concerns of the developing world on the conflict with the global leadership.
At a roundtable with global tech CEOs, the Prime Minister underscored the opportunities India provided. This prompted leaders from tech majors, including Google and Nvidia, to announce new collaboration plans with India in its efforts to harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) for growth.
