Elisha Pulivarti
Rama Krishna Sangem
US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who 
met at Bali, Indonesia on November 15, Tuesday displayed a great degree of bonhomie and friendship, said Elisha Pulivarti, CEO of US India SME Council and geopolitical analyst from Washington DC, the US. In fact, Elisha has been concerned over reports of lukewarm relations between both countries for sometime.
“This augurs well for both the countries after a brief speculation about the possible divide between the two leaders for sometime. The US midterm elections have proved once again that Biden and Modi will work together for a long time,” said Elisha, in an exclusive interview to Excel India. Elisha is Excel India‘s geopolitical and economic commentator from Washington DC.
They were in Bali to attend to the summit of G-20 whose presidency India will take over from December 1. Present chair, Indonesian president Joko Widodo will formally request Modi to take over the leadership of G-20. India will host next G-20 summit in November 2023 and President Biden, UK PM Rishi Sunak, and several other world leaders including Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to attend.
That will be a great occasion for India to showcase its leadership before world. After all, G-20 represents 80 per cent of the world economy, 65 per cent of the world population. G-20 is a major global forum since 1999 mainly aimed at solving global financial issues. But, gradually it started looking at various issues confronting the world, ranging from environment to terrorism.
Biden & Modi meeting
All eyes were on the first in person meeting between Biden and Modi at Bali, as it came after sometime. Good that it went off well and both the leaders have shown interest in furthering ties between the two countries, world’s oldest and largest democracies. “They reflected an initiated to promote cooperation and deepening strategic partnership between the US and India,” said Elisha Pulivarti.
Various emerging sectors like cyber security, artificial intelligence, and semiconductor manufacturing, among others will prominently figure in the bilateral talks that follow the Biden, Modi meeting in Bali. Two Quads – first one, among the US, India, Japan and Australia and the next one, the US, UAE, India and Israel – will surely act as engines of cooperation between the two major democracies in the coming years, said Elisha.
Biden and Modi disucssed global and regional issues and developments. PM Modi thanked President Biden for “constant support for strengthening the Us and India partnership. India is of strategic importance, as 95 per cent of the world’s consumers live outside of the US. India is also identified as key market and offers potential trade opportunities. Another plus point of India is its great human resource and business friendly political climate.
“I am sure, PM Modi is at the helm of India’s political leadership when the entire world is passing through tough times. Over the last eight years, PM Modi has proved to be an efficient, able and composed leader. President Biden cannot afford to miss out on Modi’s leadership qualities in the next two years,” said Elisha Pulivarti.
