Building strong relationship with US has been PM Modi’s strategy since taking office: World Bank President Ajay Banga

World Bank President Ajay Banga heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for prioritising on building a strong relationship with the United States both bilaterally and also through the Quad security grouping, adding that it has been his strategy ever since he took office.

Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, Banga said the Prime Minister meeting with the CEOs was an effort to ensure that India remains a strong partner in possible manufacturing opportunities, including semiconductors.

“The Prime Minister has been building a very strong relationship with the US, both, bilaterally and through the Quad. That has been his strategy since the day he became Prime Minister. Continuing with that, he is trying to ensure there is long-term engagement on strategic and economic issues,” Ajay Banga said.

“His meeting with the CEOs is an effort to make sure that India remains a strong partner in possible manufacturing opportunities and in this case he was talking about semiconductors,” he added.

Prime Minister Modi concluded his three-day visit to the United States on Tuesday.

During his visit, PM Modi attended the sixth Quad Leaders’ Summit. US President Joe Biden hosted PM Modi along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan.

He interacted with the Indian diaspora in New York at the ‘Modi and US’ event, and also addressed the ‘Summit of the Future’ at the United Nations General Assembly.

The Prime Minister Modi also interacted with the top tech leaders and CEOs of the US in a roundtable hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) School of Engineering in New York on Sunday.

PM Modi assured US business leaders of India’s deep commitment to the protection of intellectual property and to fostering tech innovation during his engagement with the top CEOs from the technology industry at a roundtable in New York.

The roundtable hosted by PM Modi comprised several prominent figures from leading companies, including, Chairman President and CEO of Adobe Shantanu Narayen, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, IBM COE Arvind Krishna, Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, and Jensen Huang of NVIDIA, among others.

During the meeting on the second day of his US visit, the Prime Minister discussed ways to foster greater collaboration between the US and India when it comes to the cutting-edge areas of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors, and biotechnology.

As per an official statement by the Prime Minister’s Office, the discussions revolved around the global technology landscape and the impact of innovations on human development and the world economy. The CEOs shared insights into how their companies are leveraging technology for innovation and expressed keen interest in collaborating with India.

PM Modi also emphasised the importance of initiatives such as the India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) as central to the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.He highlighted that technology cooperation between India and the United States could drive mutual benefits and growth.