PM Modi heads for Quad: It was India's turn to host. Why did US swap it?

PM Modi has embarked on a three-day trip to the US for the Quad, joining leaders from the US, Japan, and Australia. He will hold key talks with Joe Biden, and address the UN in New York

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday embarked on a three-day trip to the US to participate in the annual Quad summit, being hosted by President Joe Biden this year.

Quad, an intergovernmental alliance between India, US, Japan and Australia, will also see participation from leaders of other countries as they all assemble at Biden's hometown of Wilmington for the talks. Apart from the Quad summit, PM Modi will also address the UN General Assembly in New York, where he will participate in the Summit of the Future.

“I look forward to joining my colleagues President Biden, Prime Minister Albanese and Prime Minister Kishida for the Quad Summit. The forum has emerged as a key group of like-minded countries to work for peace, progress and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region,” PM Modi said in a statement before his departure.

Why did India and the US swap Quad hosting responsibilities?

This year, India was originally set to host the Quad summit, but it will now take place in New Delhi next year. The change has been made due to logistical reasons because of the UN summit. Subsequently, the US and India agreed to swap hosting responsibilities.

During a press briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said: “...we had discussions with the US colleagues and at the request of the US side, we agreed to exchange it….”

PM Modi’s itinerary in US:

In addition to the Quad, PM Modi is also expected to hold key bilateral talks with Biden to deepen ‘India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership’, according to a press release issued by the Centre.

He will also address a gathering of Indian diaspora, and meet US business leaders.

Will Modi and Biden talk about the Ukraine peace plan?

PM Modi's trip to the US follows his recent visits to Russia and Ukraine, where he highlighted India’s efforts to promote a peace plan. On August 23, he spent nine hours in the Ukrainian capital city Kyiv, just six weeks after his meeting with Putin in Moscow. On September 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin had said that India, China and Brazil could be mediators in the peace talks.

“...I will just say that this conversation is going on between these leaders. As far as the question of making a (peace) proposal arises, we will have to see how much consensus is reached and then whether we are able to reach a level where a proposal can be put before a larger audience…,” Misri said at the press conference.