India is very important partner to the US, says Kamala Harris after meeting PM Modi

Terming India a very important partner, the US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday said that the two countries shared belief in a free and open Indo Pacific region.

Harris made the remarks during a joint statement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"India is a very important partner to the US. We had COVID-19, the kind of crisis and importance of our shared belief in a free and open Indo-Pacific region. On COVID-19, our nations have worked together. Early in the pandemic, India was a vital source of vaccines for other countries," Harris said

"When India experienced the surge of COVID in the country, the United States was proud to support India in its need and its responsibility to vaccinate its people," she added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi expressed his gratitude to the US for extending a helping hand to India when it was hit by the second wave of COVID19.

This was PM Modi's first in-person meeting with Harris after she made history by becoming the first Indian-origin person to become the Vice President of America.

The meeting between the two comes a day ahead of his highly anticipated bilateral meet with US President Joe Biden.

Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi arrived in Washington for his much-touted US visit. He had earlier addressed the Global COVID-19 Summit called by US President Biden.

Biden is scheduled to host PM Modi at the White House on September 24. This is going to be the first in-person meeting between the two leaders after Biden took over as the US President on January 20.

Biden will host the first-ever in-person Quad Leaders' Summit, which will be joined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

( With inputs from ANI )

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