Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s whirlwind trip to the US recently for the QUAD summit has been hailed as a significant diplomatic success, especially in relation to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. During his trip to the US, Modi held bilateral talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the UN Summit of the Future and discussed the situation in Ukraine as well as the way forward in pursuing a path to peace. Modi told Zelensky that India remains open to providing all support to facilitate a peaceful resolution in the conflict. The Prime Minister during his meeting with Zelensky reiterated India’s “clear, consistent and constructive” approach in favour of a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
This was the third meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Zelensky in little over three months. Modi’s peace plan is straightforward – to end the war. His single point peace plan for Ukraine is to stop the war. We can guess that our Foreign Ministry itself is saying that concrete talks have taken place. In diplomacy, you never reveal things until they happen. The emphasis on India’s role in peace talks underscores its rising influence in international diplomacy. It means that this visit has been very productive and practical. Foreign policy experts have praised India’s proactive role in advocating for peace and stability in the region.
A notable outcome of Prime Minister Modi’s visit is America’s commitment to purchase semiconductor chips manufactured in India. America has committed on a bilateral basis that the US will buy ‘Made in India’ semiconductor chips. This is a very big thing. This means that America will share high-end technology with India which will bring investment in this sector. Chips will be made in India which will also be useful for our own defence. Our import cost will be reduced. And when we export, we will also earn and our technology level will increase. This development reflects a strengthening of the India-US partnership, both in terms of geopolitical strategy and economic collaboration.
The visit had a very strong technology element. The tech CEOs roundtable was attended by CEOs of major tech companies like Google, Nvidia, Global Foundry and IBM, as well as bioscience giants like Moderna and Biogen, participated in the roundtable. At this moment when things like AI and quantum computing are changing the world as we know it, there is a belief in India that technology can be a driver of seminal change for the nation, but also for countries of the global south in general, which should not be left behind in this race for technology. US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Modi agreed to drive new AI innovation opportunities, enhance R&D collaboration on advanced semiconductor processors, and increase support for India’s National Quantum Mission.
