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Transcript of Special Briefing by Foreign Secretary on Prime Minister's visit to USA (September 19, 2024)

India - Ministry of External Affairs

September 19, 2024

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good afternoon friends, I welcome you to this Special Briefing by Foreign Secretary, Shri Vikram Misri on the upcoming visit of the Prime Minister to the United States. We also have with us on stage, Shri Nagaraj Naidu, Joint Secretary (Americas), and Shri Srinivas Gotru, Joint Secretary who looks after UN affairs. With that, I invite Foreign Secretary to make his remarks. Sir, over to you.

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: Thank you, Randhir. Namaskar, good afternoon. You would all have seen the Press Release that was issued day before yesterday. I think it was regarding Prime Minister's upcoming visit to the United States. As you would be aware, the Prime Minister will be visiting the US from the 21st to the 23rd of September. This visit combines many aspects. It has a very important bilateral aspect to it, a very important plurilateral aspect to it, and an equally important multilateral aspect to it.

There will be interaction with a variety of foreign partners at the level of the Prime Minister. There will be interaction with the large Indian diaspora in the US, and there will be engagement with a host of business and industry leaders amongst others. Let me give you a snapshot of the visit and the various elements that are currently fixed, and then I can go a little bit into the detail of each of these components.

The Prime Minister's first stop will be Wilmington in Delaware, which as you know is the hometown of President Biden. That is also the venue of this sixth Quad Summit that will be held there. It also happens to be the fourth in-person Summit between the Quad Leaders, and that will be during the day on the 21st of September.

From Wilmington, the Prime Minister will travel to New York to attend the Summit of the Future (SOTF) at the United Nations. This, as you know, is a special event that has been convened this year following a decision that was taken in 2021, I think. The Prime Minister will address this gathering of world leaders. He will have a number of other engagements throughout these three days. Just to recap, on the 21st will be the Quad Summit, the bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Quad Summit.

A very special event this time on the sidelines of the Quad Summit will be a Cancer Moonshot event. This is a major priority. I can give you some more details on this later. On the 22nd, the Prime Minister will have an interaction with the Indian diaspora. This is being organized this time by the community in Long Island in New York.

There will be a technology Roundtable, a Roundtable with a number of Tech CEOs where opportunity to discuss the tech investment landscape and the opportunities that are available here will be on the table. And there will be separate and several other meetings with CEOs and other stakeholders, and also some bilateral meetings with Heads of State and Government.

On the 23rd, as I said, the Prime Minister will address the Summit of the Future in the UN General Assembly and there are a few more bilateral meetings that are being fixed up on that day. As you can imagine, several parts of this visit are still a work in progress. Some meetings are being fixed up. We will keep you updated as we go forward.

Just a few more points to elaborate on the different components of this visit. First, the Quad Summit, as I said, being hosted by President Biden in his hometown in Wilmington, Delaware. Now, I know that some of you have had some curiosity earlier about the fact that it was India's turn to host the Quad Summit this year. That's a fact. But we had discussions with our US colleagues and at the request of the US side, we agreed to exchange it, given that the Prime Minister was going to be in the United States. As you probably already know, India will host the next Quad Leaders' Summit in 2025.

The Quad has a very, very full and substantive agenda on this occasion as well. I will not pre-empt the Leaders' Declaration which will be issued at the end of the Summit. I would only point out that the Quad's constructive agenda continues to develop. We continue to work on development priorities in the Indo-Pacific in implementing Sustainable Development Goals, delivering public goods, strong focus on peace, prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Our agenda covers health security, climate change, critical and emerging technologies, HADR infrastructure, connectivity, maritime security and counter-terrorism. Therefore, this upcoming visit offers us, the Quad Leaders, the opportunity to review progress achieved in the last one year and set the agenda for the next year.

As I said, one of the signature initiatives that will be unveiled on the sidelines, and this one I can speak about a little bit, is the Cancer Moonshot event. And through this milestone initiative, the Quad aims to implement innovative strategies to prevent, detect, treat, and alleviate the impact of cancer on patients and their families. And to begin with, we intend to collaborate in reducing the burden of cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific region.

We are looking at a Quad joint statement, a Quad fact sheet, and the Cancer Moonshot event will have a separate fact sheet of its own. As you probably would have gathered by now, this is also going to be a kind of a farewell event in so far as the Quad is concerned for President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida of Japan. And therefore, the Quad event provides the Prime Minister with an opportunity to thank both leaders for their leadership in giving momentum and salience to the Quad partnership.

Very quickly, as I said on the bilateral part, there will be an opportunity to have a substantive engagement between Prime Minister and President Biden, where they will have the opportunity to review the comprehensive global strategic partnership between India and the United States, which today covers almost every aspect of human endeavor through the 50-plus engagements and bilateral dialogue mechanisms that we have between the two sides.

Again, it also gives the Prime Minister the opportunity to thank President Biden for his pioneering role in strengthening the India-US relationship and for the several new initiatives, such as the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies, which was taken during the time that President Biden has been at the helm in the United States. At the bilateral meeting, I just want to preview this a little bit for you.

There will be an opportunity for both sides to exchange a few agreements. Two, that I would highlight, are the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework-related agreements and an India-US Drug Framework related MoU. There will be a bilateral fact sheet also that will be released on this occasion, which will give you more details. We also expect to have bilateral meetings with the leaders of Japan and Australia.

Moving forward to the following day, which is the 22nd, as I said, the key engagement on this will be Prime Minister's address to a gathering of the Indian community in Long Island in New York. This is an event that's being organized by the community. As you know, we have about 4.5 million strong Indian diaspora in the United States, amongst the largest such groups there, and one that has made a mark for itself and is contributing to the relationship between the two countries by acting as a vibrant living bridge between the two of us.

The Prime Minister will also be attending, as I said, a Business Roundtable with CEOs of leading US companies in the cutting-edge areas of Artificial Intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, and biotechnology. And again, an opportunity to review innovations that have taken place in these fields, highlight India's growth journey, the opportunities that are offered in India for cooperation and investment. While in New York, the Prime Minister will also have the opportunity to have bilateral meetings with several other world leaders. These are also still being worked on in terms of timings, availability, convenience, venue, etc. So we'll keep you updated as we get more details.

Last, but certainly not the least, is Prime Minister's address to the Summit of the Future on the 23rd of September at the UN General Assembly. The Summit will bring together world leaders with the objective of enhancing multilateral cooperation with a view, obviously as the title says, to the future, to tackle the most pressing global challenges that we face, the gaps in global governance that exist. And one of the main areas of attention will be attaining the Sustainable Development Goals on target and on time.

An outcome document Pact for the Future, along with annexes on the global digital compact and a declaration for future generations, are expected to be adopted by the world leaders. And these are being finalized as we speak. Obviously, India's priorities at the Summit include inclusive and equitable sustainable development, South-South cooperation.

You would recall that the Prime Minister hosted the third Voice of the Global South Summit in August this year, which saw participation by over 120 countries. And I would imagine that many of the concerns that were raised at that Summit will also find voice at the Summit of the Future. The Summit of the Future will be followed by the UN General Assembly high level week. The External Affairs Minister will be taking part in the high level week and he will deliver India's National Statement during the high level week. Let me stop there and I'd be happy to take a few questions in the time available.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you, sir. Before I open the floor, one request, please keep your questions focused on the visit and the agenda of the visit. With that, the floor is yours.

Umashankar: Main Umashankar Singh, NDTV India se. Mera sawaal hai ki America ke purva Rashtrapati Donald Trump, aur Republican Party ke ummidwar jo hain, unhone kaha hai ki Pradhan Mantri Modi se unki mulakat hogi. Kya ye agenda par hai is yatra mein?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] I am Umashankar Singh from NDTV India. My question is that former U.S. President, and also the candidate from the Republican Party, Donald Trump has said that he will meet Prime Minister Modi. Is this meeting part of the agenda of this visit?

Sidhant: Hi sir, Sidhant from WION. The Prime Minister will be addressing the Summit of the Future. What are the key areas the Prime Minister is expected to talk about when it comes to his address? And secondly, when it comes to bilateral, any indication on... will he be having a bilateral with the Bangladeshi Chief Adviser?

Kadambini: Kadambini Sharma from NDTV. Agar Donald Trump ke sath mulakat ki koi baat hai, toh kya Kamala Harris ke sath bhi koi mulakat ki baat hai? Aur dusra sawal ye hai ki kaunse CEOs hain jinke sath mulakat fixed hai PM ki?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Kadambini Sharma from NDTV. If there is any talk of a meeting with Donald Trump, is there also any discussion about a meeting with Kamala Harris? And my second question is, which CEOs have scheduled meetings with the Prime Minister?

Parikshit: Sir, you said that we are exchanging an agreement on IPEF. So does this mean we are ratifying now? India has agreed to join the IPEF, and any further progress that we expect on semicon cooperation between the two countries?

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: Let me take these questions.

Uma aapka sawal tha and I think somebody else also posed this question ki kya jo purva Rashtrapati hain, Shri Donand Trump, unke sath Pradhan Mantri Modi ji ki bhent hogi ya nahin. Dekhiye jaisa maine pahle hi kaha ki Pradhan Mantri ji ke sath kayi sari meetings is samay hain jinko hum fix karne ki koshish kar rahe hain, jitna samay upladbd hai hamare pass meetings ke liye. Toh abhi main kisi specific meeting ke baare mei aapko nahi bata paunga ki meetings fix hui hain ya nahin. Hum sabhi drishtikono se dekh rahe hain ki kitna samay hamare pass hai aur kis-kis se meeting ho sakti hai, toh jaisi bhi, jo bhi leaders ke sath meetings fix hoti hai toh uske baare mei main samay pe aapko update karta rahunga.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] Uma, your question was, and I think someone else also posed this question, whether Prime Minister Modi will meet former President Donald Trump or not. Look, as I mentioned earlier, we are currently trying to schedule several meetings of Prime Minister, based on the time available for meetings. So, at this moment, I cannot specifically tell you whether meetings have been fixed or not. We are looking from all viewpoints, considering how much time we have and with whom the meetings can be arranged. As soon as any meetings with leaders are fixed, I will update you accordingly.

Sidhant, Your question on the priorities in the Summit of the Future, look, obviously this is something I won't be able to preview or pre-empt Prime Minister's remarks at this very important event. But I would underline that the Summit is being held at a time of conflict, tensions and divisions in the world. There is an obvious deficit of development in the world at large and the Global South is at the risk of being left behind on account of current developments. The world is also playing catch-up in so far as fulfillment of the very important Sustainable Development Goals is concerned. There are a host of issues related to climate, to education, to youth, gender, energy, infrastructure and the digital divide. So I would imagine that the Prime Minister's message and India's message will take many of these issues into consideration and highlight India's approaches on all of these issues. Our attempt as India is obviously to work on prosperity and development, to show our willingness to step forward and share more widely what we can within our means in terms of our own experiences and highlight also the important initiatives that we have taken, that India has taken in climate, on the environment, in renewable energy, housing, education, skilling and most important I would say, good governance by leveraging digital technology in which obviously our experiences related to, on account of the digital public infrastructure are concerned, which I think has huge potential for the world at large.

And similarly on the other important aspect which will be a feature at the SOTF which is peace and security, and again our message is likely to focus on our opposition to war as a means of settling political divisions and discords, and the need for diplomacy and dialogue to settle such issues. Prime Minister's own recent travels, which you would have been following, have been aimed in this direction. I am sure that many of these issues will be covered in his address.

Kadambini, I have already answered the question related to meetings with people in the US political landscape. We will keep you updated on what evolves.

On the CEOs as well, as I said it won't be proper for me at this point in time to speak about specific individuals because many of them are still being contacted. But rest assured, we will have a full readout on everybody who attended the meeting. But I think you can get a fair guess by looking at the areas and the sectors that I outlined. It will be a high profile meeting and CEOs representing the cutting-edge sectors of AI, quantum, semiconductors, etc. will be represented in the Roundtable.

There is the last question on IPEF. Yes, I think as you are aware, there are four separate pillars to the IPEF. We had in the past, as I recall, acceded to one pillar under that. The present agreements, the Exchange of Agreements, refers to our accession now to two further pillars of the IPEF. And there is also something that is referred to as the overarching agreement for IPEF, which is essentially an administrative arrangement of how things will go forward in terms of coordination between various partners. That is another agreement that will also be ratified and exchanged at this particular stage. So, that is what will actually constitute this particular event.

Parikshit: Sir, on the semicon?

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: As part of this or in general?

Parikshit: This visit sir, because the State Department has also signed an agreement with the Indian Government...

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: Yes. As you know, on semiconductors, what I might refer to as a full-court press, in so far as the Government of India is concerned, we are engaged with a large number of international partners, but of course in a very big way with our US interlocutors. Last year when the Prime Minister visited the United States, there were several agreements that were entered into and that really gave a boost to the semiconductor drive in India. You saw a number of investments by companies such as LAM Research, Applied Materials, etc. that came into India. Micron has already broken ground and its facility is really under construction at the present moment. And I have seen some reports suggesting that the first export of chips from the Micron facility can happen as early as next year. So those are the kinds of conversations that will be carried forward during this. We want to invite and attract even more investment from US partners, not just in the area of fabs but now in the allied areas of tooling, of materials and of course in terms of skills and training. So I imagine these subjects will also be under discussion during the Prime Minister's engagements in the United States.

Pranay: Sir Pranay Upadhyaya, Amar Ujala se. Pradhan Mantri ke pahle jo samudayik karyakram hote rahe hain America mei usme humne dekha hai ki Democratic Party, Republican Party ke kayi neta wahan par rahe hain, purva Rashtrapati Donald Trump bhi pichle unke karyakram mei rahe the, toh kya is baar bhi unke karyakramo mei kuch rajneta maujood reh sakte hain?

Aur ek chota sa clarification SOTF ko lekar, aapne peace and security ka jikra kiya, kya Pradhan Mantri ki haliya jo Ukraine aur Moscow ki yatra hain uske sandarbh mei ye apeskha ki ja sakti hai ki kuch thos prastav woh SOTF mei samne rakh sakte hain shanti prayason ke taur par?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, Pranay Upadhyaya from Amar Ujala. In the previous community events of the Prime Minister in America, we have seen leaders from both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party present, and former President Donald Trump also attended one of his previous events. So, can we expect any political leaders to be present at his events this time as well?

And a small clarification regarding SOTF, you mentioned peace and security; in light of the Prime Minister's recent visits to Ukraine and Moscow, can we expect him to put forward any concrete proposal in the SOTF as part of peace efforts?

Yeshi: This is Yeshi Seli from The New Indian Express. White House has said that China is going to be high on the agenda of talks during the Quad. Are there other things also like conflict between Russia and Ukraine and also between Israel and Palestine likely to come up for discussion?

Huma: Sir I am Huma Siddiqui from the Financial Express. You mentioned that there will be some bilateral agreements announced during the talks with Biden. So would there be anything related to defence and maritime security and space?

Suhasini: Foreign Secretary, this is Suhasini Haider from the Hindu. I wanted to also ask on Pranay's question, a broader question. Is India going to present any kind of a proposal for peace in the Russia-Ukraine conflict during Prime Minister Modi's visit to New York and Delaware, whether it is at the Quad Summit or whether it is at the UN meetings? And is he meeting President Zelenskyy? Is there a request for a meeting from either side on that? And I just wanted to clarify, is the first agreement on IPEF, is that about India joining the trade pillar? I just wasn't clear about that.

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: Pranay, aapka jo sawal hai community event mei kya jo rajnaitik neta hain woh usme bhag lenge ya nahin. Jaisa aap jante hain, ye jo event hai iski jo organization hai woh community ki hai, toh ismai kisko bulaya jayega, kaun ismei sharik hoga, ye community ki responsibility mei aata hai. Toh isme abhi main apni taraf se kuch keh nahi sakunga kyunki hum, Bharat sarkar isko organise nahi kar rahi hai. Toh aapko mere khayal se jo aapke bahut saare contacts honge community organizations mei America mei, woh shayad aapko is baat ka jawaab de paye.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] Pranay, your question is whether political leaders will participate in the community event or not. As you know, this event is being organized by the community, so who will be invited and who will attend falls under the responsibility of the community. Therefore, I cannot comment on this from my side, as the Government of India is not organizing it. I believe you may have many contacts within the community organizations in America who might be able to provide you with an answer to this.

Dusra jo aapne kaha ki SOTF mei kya peace and security ko leke, jo wahan pe event hoga, usmei Pradhan Mantri ji Russia aur Ukraine ke beach mei jo yudh hai usko leke kuch prasthav rakhenge. Jaisa aap jante hain, in chizon ko le ke abhi hal hi mei Pradhan Mantri ji unki yatra Russia mei hui thi, Ukraine mei hui thi uske baad, unhone leaders se batchit bhi ki, rashtrapati Biden se batchit ki, rashtrapati Putin se batchit ki, aur hamare rashtriya suraksha salahakar bhi jab Russia gaye the, unki bhi rashtrapati Putin se batchit hui thi. Toh main toh abhi sirf itna kahunga ki ye abhi jo leaders hain unke bich mei ye batchit chal rahi hai aur jahan tak prastav rakhne ka saval uthta hai, hume aage dekhna padega ki kitni sehmati ban pati hai aur phir kya hum aise star pe pahunch paate hain jahan ek larger audience ke samne koi prastav rakhe jayein. Toh mere khayal se isme thoda sa intezaar karne ki aavashyakta hai, aur sahi samay pe aapko iske baare mei bata payenge.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] The second part of your question was whether the Prime Minister will put forward any proposal during the SOTF event regarding peace and security, concerning the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. As you know, the Prime Minister recently visited Russia and Ukraine, and after those visits, he also held discussions with leaders, including President Biden and President Putin. Our National Security Advisor also had discussions with President Putin during his visit to Russia. So, I can only say at this point that these talks are ongoing between the leaders. As for putting forward any proposal, we'll have to see how much consensus is reached and whether we can reach a stage where a proposal can be put before a larger audience. So, I think we need to wait a little, and at the right time, we will be able to update you on this.

Yeshi, your question related to the agenda before the Quad and you know, different issues that will be there. All I can say is I think you are by now quite familiar with the very wide agenda that the Quad covers and I would say that the regional, international geopolitical situation will be on the agenda before the Quad leaders, and the essence from the discussions will be reflected in the joint statement that is issued. I think we should wait for that to come out, but I can assure you that all the key challenges confronting the international community in so far as aspects related to development, to peace, to security will be discussed by the leaders.

Huma you mentioned about bilateral agreements related to defence, maritime security and space. Look in terms of the agreements that will be exchanged between the two sides, I have already referred to the two agreements that we will do bilaterally that is the IPEF pillar agreements and the drug framework agreement. With regard to others, these are obviously issues that are under discussion and intense discussion between the two sides, whether they have reached the level where an agreement can be announced is difficult to say at this point in time. Maybe there are a few more steps that we need to take before we can conclude agreements in these areas. But they will all form a part of the discussion in the very, very broad and rich agenda that the leaders have before them.

Suhasini, your question, again I think in so far as proposals for peace etc. are concerned, I have already answered that. With regard to meeting with President Zelenskyy, I am not aware of request at this particular time in so far as these bilateral meetings are concerned. As I said, we are still finalizing the exact agenda of the bilateral meetings.

Your other question on IPEF and whether we are joining the trade pillar. As you know, we had earlier joined the supply chain pillar. If I am not mistaken, that was the first pillar that we had joined. There are two more pillars. I think pillar 3 is related to the clean economy and pillar 4 is related to a fair economy and there is an overarching agreement. We are joining pillars 3 and 4 and the overarching agreement. So at the end of this exercise, we would have done 2, 3, 4 and the overarching agreement. So these agreements, in a sense, the work on signing and ratifying them has already been done and the event that will take place in Wilmington will be essentially depositing our instruments of ratification with the US Department of State which is the repository for these agreements. Work and discussion on the trade pillar continue at this point in time.

Jackie: Hi, Jackie from BBC. Forgive me if I have just not understood an earlier question or answer, but can I just check. Nominee Trump, in a statement a couple of days ago, said that while the Prime Minister is a fantastic man, India is a great abuser in trade. Will this be discussed in the meeting that the nominee says will be happening?

Bramh Prakash: Sir, Bramh Prakash Dubey, News India se, mera sawal yeh hai ki Pradhan Mantri Modi ki aur Joe Biden ki jo dwipakshiya batchit hogi, usme kya Khalistani aatankwaad ka mudda bhi uthega, kyuki kayi Khalistani neta US me abhi bhi active hain aur woh lagataar activity kar rahe hain Bharat ke khilaf, toh usko lekar kya rukh rehne wala hai. Aur dusra kya sambhawana hai bilateral ki Chinese Rashtrapati aur Pakistani Pradhan Mantri ke saath.

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, Bramh Prakash Dubey from News India. My question is whether the issue of Khalistani terrorism will be raised during the bilateral talks between Prime Minister Modi and Joe Biden, as several Khalistani leaders are still active in the U.S. and continue to engage in activities against India. What will be the stance on this issue? Secondly, is there any possibility of bilateral meeting with the Chinese President and with the Pakistani Prime Minister?

Ayanangsha: Excellency, this is Ayanangsha Maitra. I have a pair of questions. The first question is, the SOTF has a thematic template. It's multilateralism for a better tomorrow. So will the financial alternative mechanisms, other than SWIFT, also be raised in the Summit? And during the meeting with President Biden, will there be any sort of discussions on the political instability in Bangladesh, as well as the security situation emanating from Afghanistan?

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: Jackie, your question on the remarks that have been made by former President Trump and whether they will come up in a discussion, I think we first need to work our way through to fixing a meeting and then look at the issues. Obviously, as I said, I can't make any comment on the meeting at this point in time. But I can assure you that whatever are the issues between the United States and India, if they are a concern on either side, they will find reflection in a meeting. We would be taking on those issues.

Bramh Prakash aapka jo prashna tha Khalistan issue ko lekar, toh jaisa hum pahle bhi keh chuke hain, Bharat aur America ke bich jo bhi mutual concerns hote hain, issues ko leke, un sabhi issues pe batchit hoti hai. Jo bhi hamare bich me sawal jawab uthte hain, unko le ke hum discussion karne ke liye taiyar hain aur woh is bari bhi hoga. Toh specific issue koi uthega ya nahin woh is samay main nahi keh sakta, lekin sabhi issues pe hum discussion karenge ye main jarur keh sakta hoon.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] Bramh Prakash, regarding your question on the Khalistan issue, as we have stated earlier, all mutual concerns and issues between India and the U.S. are discussed. We are ready to engage in discussions on any questions or concerns that arise between us, and this will happen this time as well. Whether a specific issue will be raised or not, I cannot say at this moment, but I can certainly say that we will discuss all relevant issues.

On the question related to financial mechanisms in the SOTF, look, conceivably, there is a very vast array of issues that can come up in the SOTF, given the broad agenda that the SOTF is dealing with. As I said, there are five broad pillars - sustainable development and financing for development; international peace and security; science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation; youth and future generations; and transforming global governance. Now, these five broad pillars cover a swathe of topics and the topic that you have mentioned can very well find reflection in the statements of world leaders. I can't tell you at this present moment in time whether a specific issue will find reflection in the Prime Minister's statement or not. But conceivably, yes, this is a relevant issue to be discussed at such an event as well. Thank you.

Sumita: Just wanted to understand the intended outcomes that India is looking at, of course, you mentioned several sectors like AI, semiconductors, quantum computing, biotech, and of course we have seen, you also spoke about the kind of agreements and investments that were finalized on Prime Minister's last visit to the United States. We have also seen some agreements being signed, MoUs being signed in the Singapore Summit. But can you speak a bit about the intended outcomes that India is expecting with respect to these meetings and these sectors?

Rishabh: Good afternoon Foreign Secretary, Rishabh from Times Now. Sir, two things, A, will India and US discuss the Bangladesh issue; and B, sir, what's the status on the high level investigation that India initiated after there were allegations of plot to kill one of the proclaimed terrorists here in India, in US, since that he has filed a lawsuit against the Government of India now.

Mukesh: Sir, this is Mukesh from Dainik Bhaskar. My question may sound similar to what Pranay and Suhasini ji asked, but I will put it in a different background so you may like to answer it in a different way. Russian President said ki Bharat ko ab hum peacemaker ke roop mei dekh rahe hain, toh kya Joe Biden ke sath jo unki bilateral hogi, kya Putin ne koi peace formula hai jo unke sath sajha karne ko kaha hai. Aur khastaur se aaj ki Reuters ki report mei, bahot important ho jata hai, kyuki Reuters ki report kehti hai ki European deshon ko jo Bharat se ammunition ja raha hai, woh Ukraine ko supply ho raha hai, aur aise mei Bharat ki peacemaker ki bhumika bhi prabhavit hui hai?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, this is Mukesh from Dainik Bhaskar. My question might sound similar to what Pranay and Suhasini Ji asked, but I will frame it in a different context, so you might want to answer it in a different way. The Russian President has said that they now see India as a peacemaker, so, has President Putin shared any peace formula with Prime Minister Modi to convey during the bilateral talks with Joe Biden? This is especially in light of today's Reuters' report, this becomes quite significant because the Reuters' report suggests that ammunition from India to European countries is being supplied to Ukraine; and this has impacted India's role as a peacemaker?

Siddhant: Hello Foreign Secretary I am Siddhant from CNN News18. Adding on the what the gentleman just asked, I want to understand from you, is India working on some kind of a peace proposal with other countries also, a combined peace proposal? Can we expect that in days to come, one? And second, Foreign Secretary, in Israel, there have been reports published that Prime Minister could meet Prime Minister Netanyahu also. So as far as Europe war is concerned, we are contributing to the peace talks, can we expect India to contribute to the peace talks in Middle East also? Thank you.

Nayanima: Foreign Secretary, Nayanima from ABP Live, just want to understand in terms of the Quad Summit, what could be the strategic outcome of it, now that India is playing the role of a peacemaker; and also with Biden leaving White House, do you think will enjoy the similar kind of relevance or momentum? Thank you so much.

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: I think on this question related to outcomes in so far as the visit is concerned, look, there are obviously concrete outcomes out of the bilateral part of the engagement. In so far as the Quad itself is concerned, there will be a joint statement which you will be able to see the specific outcomes there. There are a number of new initiatives that have been worked on and again, at this point, I can't get into the details, but you will see the outcomes in that. The joint fact sheet as well, that will be issued on the occasion, will have a focus on specific projects that will be taken up; new commitments that have been made by various partners, including India, in sectors of relevance; investments as well that will take place; and capacity building. So these are all the kinds of sectors in which we expect new initiatives to be announced. And as I said, the joint fact sheet on the Cancer Moonshot is a very, very significant event. It goes to a human level, a very real human level in the otherwise geopolitically dominated Quad universe. So that is on the Quad side and on the bilateral side, as I have mentioned already, it will also touch upon several areas of cooperation. I have already referenced the IPEF agreements that will be exchanged and the drug policy framework between India and the United States. Apart from that, the meetings that will take place with the tech CEOs, I would imagine, will also result in several new commitments and initiatives announced by the CEOs in terms of their future plans in India.

Rishabh, you had a question and I think I might have missed out on this question earlier as well on the meetings of Prime Minister with various world leaders. As I said, a lot of this is work in progress, lots of moving parts. So as and when the meetings are fixed up, we will update you. On whether a particular issue will find reflection in the meeting between PM and President Biden, again, as I said, the agenda between India and the United States is vast and deep, and all issues are open for discussion between two strategic partners such as India and the United States.

I notice a lot of focus in several of the remaining questions by Mukesh, by Siddhant and by Nayanima as well, on India's role as a peacemaker and whether we are in a position to propose a peace formula, either with our bilateral partners or on a multilateral platform and whether we are working on a peace proposal. Again, I will go back to what I mentioned earlier, we are involved in a set of several conversations with several important partners and leaders at this point in time. These conversations are a work in progress and we will update you on the results of this conversation at the right time. At the present moment, we remain engaged with our interlocutors on these very important issues.

Again, specific meetings with leaders, being worked out.

In so far as peace in the Middle East is concerned, you all know India's long standing position on this issue. We have always stood for a ceasefire in so far as the immediate events are concerned, the need to ensure a humanitarian corridor and the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza, and for the immediate release of the hostages so that we can work towards a more sustainable and broad-based settlement in the area. Our long-term approach towards this issue has also long been clear. We are in favor of a two-state solution, States of Israel and Palestine living at peace with each other within stable borders and secure borders for both of them. And I would imagine that this stance will continue and we will continue to articulate it on the global stage.

There was a question related to the high-level inquiry. Again, as has been said from this platform in the past, when these issues were first brought to our attention, we have taken certain action and these issues, including the allegations, are being enquired into by high-level committee and the relevant agencies on both sides have engaged on this.

I think there was a reference to the cases that have been lodged recently. I am not sure who raised that question. Yes, I think Rishabh has raised this. Look, again, as we have said earlier, these are completely unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations. Now that this particular case has been lodged, it doesn't change our views about the underlying situation. I would only invite your attention to the person behind this particular case, whose antecedents are well known. I would also underline the fact that the organization so-called that this person represents is an unlawful organization, has been declared as such under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967; and it has been done so on account of its involvement in anti-national and subversive activities aimed at disrupting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. And, I don't want to say anything more than that at this point in time. I think that speaks for itself. Thank you.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: With that, Ladies and Gentlemen, we come to the close of this Session. Thank you sir for taking your time for the media and thank you all of you for your presence. Stay tuned for more updates on the visit. Thank you.