US Vice-Prez Kamala Harris to meet PM Modi on September 23

US Vice-President Kamala Harris will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 23, a day ahead of the maiden bilateral meet between him and President Joe Biden and the Quad Summit at the White House, officials have said.

Biden will host Modi for their first in-person bilateral meeting at the White House on September 24. Later on that day, Biden will host the first-ever in-person Quad Leaders Summit at the White House with Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

“The Vice President will meet with His Excellency Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India,” a White House official said.

This will be the first meeting between the two leaders. Harris had earlier spoken with Modi over the phone during the COVID-19 crisis. Harris is the first-ever person of Indian origin to be elected as the vice-president of the United States.

During this week, when world leaders will gather in New York to attend the annual session of the UN General Assembly, Harris, according to the White House, is scheduled to hold meetings with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on Wednesday and President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Thursday.

On Wednesday, she will also lead a session at the Presidents virtual COVID Summit on building back better and preparing and preventing future pandemics, according to a senior White House official.