Sept. 8 (UPI) — President Joe Biden will arrive in India Friday for the first leg of a three-day trip that includes a major speech before the G20 summit and a diplomatic visit to Vietnam for strategic meetings with the communist regime amid growing tensions in Southeast Asia.
Upon arriving in New Delhi, Biden planned to sit down with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the day before the highly anticipated conference got underway.
Air Force One was expected to land shortly before 7 p.m. local time at Indira Gandhi International Airport, according to an itinerary issued by the White House.
The White House did not reveal the topics that Biden and Modi would discuss after the pair announced an extensive package of defense and technology agreements during the Modi’s state visit to the White House in June.
Biden’s trip comes the same week that first lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19, while the president has tested negative several times and continued to show no symptoms, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre indicated previously, adding that Biden would wear a mask indoors for 10 days.
The summit begins Saturday, with the president attending two sessions called “One Earth” and “One Family,” and will later take part in a group photo before participating in an event to launch the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.
During a speech on Saturday, Biden was widely expected to take an open opportunity to rally more international support for Ukraine as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin were both skipping the conference.
The summit comes days after a Russian missile strike in Kyiv killed 16 people ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s arrival in the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday to announce a new $1 billion aid package that Biden was expected to mention in his remarks.
The president’s message would likely call attention to the strength of the American economy, including low unemployment, in an effort to deepen alliances with the G20 partners, creating new strategic military and economic advantages for the U.S. around the world.
The summit also takes place amid increasing military threats from North Korea and China, which have escalated provocations in the Indo-Pacific in recent months. At the same time, Xi and Putin were forming a tighter alliance amid the war, while North Korea was considering a deal to supply weapons to the Russian military for the first time, prompting warnings from Washington.
The Biden administration has been pushing for closer cooperation among its allies in the region in light of a shifting balance of power across the globe, and Xi vowing to take steps toward “reunification” with Taiwan during his third term, which started in March.
The president would also call for further cooperation between member nations to counter Chinese influence in Africa as the Biden administration was stepping up efforts to uproot Chinese infrastructure around the world amid increasing fears of espionage.
Intelligence-sharing activities have ramped up in recent months, with Biden signing strategic agreements with several Asian nations while shoring up military installations in the South China Sea and elsewhere.
Separately, Biden was expected to try to mend relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia in an effort to bolster the Middle East economy.
Biden would also call on developing nations in the collective to invest more in clean energy infrastructure.
Later in the day, Biden will attend dinner with the other G20 leaders as part of a cultural gala.
On Sunday, Biden will visit the Raj Ghat Memorial before departing for Vietnam, where the commander-in-chief will meet with communist leader General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi.
Biden and Trong will hold a joint press conference after the talks.
On Monday, Biden plans to meet with Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and prominent CEOs before attending a state luncheon with President Vo Van Thuong.
Before departing, Biden plans to visit the John Sidney McCain III Memorial in Hanoi.
From there, the president is scheduled to fly to Alaska to deliver remarks to service members, first responders, and their families on the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, before returning to Washington the same evening.
The G20 comprises the world’s biggest economies, including Argentina, Australia, India, Indonesia, Italy, Saudi Arabi, South Africa, South Korea, Britain, the U.S., China, France, Germany, Japan, Canada, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Turkey, and the European Union.
Collectively, the body accounts for about 85% of global GDP.
