New Delhi: Among the four key global leaders, including 78-year-old US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accorded "due seniority" respect, as happens with mega and intimate diplomatic shows during the first in-person historic Quad Summit.
Born September 17, 1950, Modi is 71-year-old and that way much younger than President Biden. But in terms of elevation or election to the coveted office, Modi is "senior most" among all four.
While 78-year-old Biden and eldest among all leaders of Quad became the President of the US on January 20, 2021, Australian PM Scott Morrison came to his high office on August 24, 2018. Similarly, though a one-year elder to PM Modi, Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga took over the reins of governance in his country only on September 16, 2020. Mr Modi had taken over as the Indian Prime Minister on May 26, 2014, after recording a landslide win in the parliamentary elections. He repeated his electoral victory in 2019 with an enhanced mandate.
"Indian Prime Minister Modi was accorded due seniority, and he was asked to be the last to arrive for the Quad Summit and the first to leave," someone in the know of things said.
Sources said the Quad Leaders' Summit was structured around four themes–Afghanistan and Regional Security, Covid-19 response, Tech and cyber security, and Climate.
Mr Modi was the lead speaker on the theme of tech and cyber security and made important suggestions on taking forward mutual cooperation. A document on Quad Principles on critical and emerging technologies was adopted on occasion. During the Quad, President Biden repeatedly referred to comments and suggestions made by PM Modi on various topics and "amplified them".
Sources said 'Counter-terrorism' was a key focus area in the bilateral talks.
"The pernicious role played by Pakistan in Afghanistan, and the need for the international community to be cognizant of this, found resonance with US interlocutors," the source said.
An MoU on Health Cooperation was finalized and will be signed soon. This will help cooperation in health and biomedical sciences.
The next round of various sectoral dialogues between India and the US will be scheduled as follows up to the Modi-Biden meeting. Biden has been invited to visit India at the earliest.
The sectoral dialogues would cover the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, Designation Dialogue, Homeland Security Dialogue, Defence Policy Group, Health Dialogue and Trade Policy Forum (both at Ministerial level).
At the Quad Summit, all welcomed India's decision to resume vaccine exports from October.
Taking forward the Quad vaccine initiative, it was noted that Biological E would be producing 1 million doses of the Janssen vaccine by October 2021. India would be financing 50% of this first consignment.
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