NEW DELHI (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden traveled to a closed meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, shortly after arriving in New Delhi for a G20 summit at the weekend.
The last time Biden and Modi met in person was in June, when the Indian prime minister was a guest on a state visit to the White House.
The two leaders are expected to discuss progress on a series of agreements reached in June, including an agreement allowing General Electric to produce engines in India to power Indian military aircraft.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will also be present.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters before the meeting that the talks would show “the breadth of the relationship between our countries.”
There were persistent questions about press access to the trip. The official White House agenda did not allow the usual group of reporters to be admitted to the upper part of the bilateral meeting.
“Look, folks, we’re doing everything we can to make sure there’s access,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on the Air Force One flight to India.
Although the two countries are not formal allies and India has long enjoyed its independence, Washington wants New Delhi to be a strategic counterweight to China.
Armed with cash for the World Bank and promises of sustained U.S. engagement, Biden hopes to convince the fast-growing economies of Africa, Latin America and Asia that there is an alternative to China’s Belt and Road project, which is pouring billions of dollars into the Countries have been committed to development, but many of them are heavily indebted.
After the G20 summit, Biden will visit Vietnam before returning to the US on Monday.
