Narendra Modi live: PM meets Japanese counterpart, discusses ‘bilateral ties’

Narendra Modi live updates: The prime minister has landed in New York to attend the Summit of the Future at the UN and interact with the Indian community (PTI Photo)

PM Modi as well as Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, Australian PM Anthony Albanese have pledged to collaborate with US president Joe Biden to initiate training for doctors in Indo-Pacific regions to screen for cervical cancer, at the Quad leaders summit.

PM Modi was attending a Cancer Moonshot event in Wilmington, Delaware, where President Joe Biden emphasised the need for screening and vaccination of cervical cancer that claims lives of 1,50,000 women in the Indo-Pacific region.

In his jam-packed three day visit as a part of the Quad leader’s summit, PM Modi conducted bilateral meetings with President Joe Biden and PM Kishida respectively, for whom this is the last summit as leaders of their countries.

During the summit, PM Modi said that the Quad is not against anyone, but for a rules-based international order and respect for sovereignty.

“Our message is clear – Quad is here to stay, to assist, to partner and to complement,” he said in his opening remarks at the summit. He also expressed the desire to host the next summit in India.

The Quad summit- which is the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue – also featured discussions about the countering China and the activities being conducted in the South China sea.

The group of leaders also issued a joint statement, called the Wilmington Declaration which said, “Anchored by shared values, we seek to uphold the international order based on the rule of law. Together we represent nearly two billion people and over one-third of global gross domestic product. We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient.”

After the Quad summit, PM Modi presented President Joe Biden with a silver-antique train model and gave a pashmina shawl to First Lady Jill Biden.