'Her feat has inspired entire world', says PM Modi upon meeting Kamala Harris
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday extended warm regards for US Vice President Kamala Harris shortly after meeting her during his US visit. He is currently on his seventh visit of the country, where he is slated to attend several important ocassions like the Quad summit, and hold bilateral talks with US President Joe Biden. On his first day in the country, he met with Kamala Harris, at the historic Eisenhower building in Washington D.C.
"Glad to have met @VP @KamalaHarris. Her feat has inspired the entire world. We talked about multiple subjects that will further cement the India-USA friendship, which is based on shared values and cultural linkages.", Modi tweeted on Friday.
PM Modi and Kamala Harris issued a joint statement before they proceeded for a one-on-one talk. Kamala Harris described India as a "very important partner" to the US and welcomed New Delhi's announcement that it will soon resume vaccine export.
"India and America are natural partners. We have similar values, similar geopolitical interests," Modi said in a joint media appearance with Harris, the first-ever person of Indian origin to be elected as the vice-president of the United States.
India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvring in the region China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea.
She said the world is more interconnected and more interdependent than ever before. “And the challenges that we face today have highlighted that fact. COVID-19, climate crisis and the importance of our shared belief in the Indo-Pacific region,” she said.
Although she had spoken to several world leaders soon after becoming Vice President, she had a phone conversation with Modi only in June when she discussed President Joe Biden's offer to send vaccines to India from the US stockpile when it suffered a Covid surge.
