Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Jo Biden will hold bilateral talks on September 8 in New Delhi, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed. Mr Biden, who is being closely watched for symptoms of COVID-19, after U.S. First Lady Jill Biden tested positive on Monday, tested negative and is still on track to travel to the capital for the G20 Summit, as per the White House.
In New Delhi, the U.S. will focus on “delivering for developing countries, making progress on key priorities for the American people from climate to technology, and showing our [its] commitment to the G 20,” Mr Sullivan told reporters at Tuesday’s White House press briefing.
Mr Sullivan also said the U.S. welcomed the addition of the African Union as a new permanent member of the G20 and that scaling up and reshaping development banks and institutions (the World Bank and IMF) would also be a focus of the discussions this weekend. Mr Biden will call on G20 countries to provide debt relief for low and middle income countries , and play a constructive role in this, with “no exceptions” , Mr Sullivan said, presumably referring to China’s role as the world’s largest creditor.
