Wilmington, US: U.S. President Joe Biden told PM Modi that the United States will offer support for India’s permanent membership in a ‘reformed’ UN Security Council( UNSC) alongside its support to reforming global institutions to reflect India’s significant voice.
President Biden’s statement came just as Quad leaders vowed support to reform the UNSC through expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of membership during the Quad Leaders Summit.
The summit was attended by leaders including PM Modi, Japan's PM Fumio Kishida and Australia's Anthony Albanese.
The Quad leaders in a joint statement said that the India-US partnership "is vital to the success of efforts to build a cleaner, inclusive, more secure, and more prosperous future for the planet."
President Biden praised PM Modi’s leadership role in the G-20 and the Global South while acknowledging his recent visit to Poland and Ukraine.
India’s permanent membership to UNSC emerged during a discussion regarding the reformation of global institutions to reflect today’s geopolitical realities alongside the country’s large population and expanding economy and its role in international diplomacy and peacekeeping.
"The Leaders reaffirmed their support for the freedom of navigation and the protection of commerce, including critical maritime routes in the Middle East where India will assume co-lead in 2025 of the Combined Task Force 150 to work with Combined Maritime Forces to secure sea lanes in the Arabian Sea," the joint statement reportedly said.
PM Modi stressed the importance of a "free, open, inclusive, and prosperous Indo-Pacific," while suggesting collaborations in health security, emerging technologies, and climate change.
Meanwhile, as part of clean energy projects, the Biden administration announced plans of investing $1 billion in new multilateral financing via the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for clean energy projects in India.