New Delhi: There is no space for discrimination in India, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a rare press conference alongside US President Joe Biden in Washington late Thursday night.
Asked what India is doing to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in the country, Modi said: “Democracy is in our spirit and our ancestors have inculcated it in the Constitution. Our government works as per the Constitution and we have proved that democracy can deliver.”
He added: “Democracy can deliver and when we talk about democracy, there is no discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, religion etc.”
Since becoming the Indian Prime Minister in 2014, Modi has not directly addressed a press conference in India. He did, however, answer some questions during a press conference with Obama when the latter visited India in 2015. In May 2019, the PM reportedly attended a press conference but did not take any questions.
During the PM’s ongoing visit to the US, it was decided that two reporters would be allowed to pose questions to Modi — one from each country.
Speaking to reporters, the US President confirmed that the issue of human rights was raised in his talks with Modi, but said that democracy is part of the “DNA” of both countries.
He added that India and the US are natural partners when it comes to “expand[ing] democratic institutions across the world.”
However, in his opening remarks at the briefing, Biden mentioned that India and the US face challenges to human rights within their own borders.
“Indians and Americans are both peoples who…celebrate the democratic values of universal human rights, which face challenges around the world and in each of our countries…,” he said.
The two leaders also talked about elevating India-US defence, space and strategic relationship, during the press briefing, as well as climate change concerns. While Biden also made a mention of the Russia-Ukraine war during the press briefing, Modi remained silent on the subject.
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Focus on defence co-development & co-production
On defence, PM Modi said there is more focus on co-development and co-production.
“Growing defence co-operation between India and the US is key to our bilateral relations. We are leaving behind the buyer-seller relationship and are now focusing on transfer of technology, co-development, and co-production,” he said.
This comes as US company GE inked a deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture jet engines. A deal for the purchase of high altitude long endurance (HALE) drones is also reportedly on the cards.
Meanwhile, Biden said the defence partnership will see “more joint exercises [and] more cooperation between defense industries”.
During the briefing, the two leaders also officially announced developments in space cooperation.
PM Modi revealed that India would be joining the Artemis Accords to expand civil space exploration, while Biden confirmed that the two countries will embark on a joint mission to send the first Indian astronaut to the International Space Station in 2024.
Biden briefly mentions Russia
Unlike Modi, the US President made a specific reference to the Russia-Ukraine war during his opening remarks.
“We [Modi & Biden] also talked about our shared efforts to mitigate the humanitarian tragedies unleashed by Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine and to defend the core principles of the UN charter…,” he told reporters.
He also mentioned that the two leaders spoke about the Quad partnership (between Australia, India, Japan and the United States), I2U2 (a grouping of India, Israel, UAE, and the US) and India’s ongoing G20 Presidency.
During his opening remarks, PM Modi briefly touched upon cooperation on cross-border terrorism.
“We are completely ready in any way we can to restore peace. India and the US are moving together in battle against terrorism and extremism,” he remarked.
Climate change
While fielding questions on climate change, the two leaders reiterated that their countries are cooperating on accelerating the global clean energy transition and addressing the climate crisis.
PM Modi remarked that out of all the G20 members, India is the only one that has made good on its promises under the Paris Agreement.
“Among all the G20 nations, the promise that was made in Paris, only India has fulfilled it. We are working towards making India a green hydrogen hub,” said.
This comes ahead of the COP28 climate change conference to take place in the UAE later this year.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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