Modi briefs Biden on Ukraine visit in call, discusses ‘shared concerns’ about Bangladesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden discuss situation in Bangladesh, the war in Ukraine and the next meeting of the Quad group.

India and the United States have “shared concern” about developments in Bangladesh, particularly over the safety of minorities, said the government after U.S. President Joseph Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to each other over the telephone on Monday (August 26, 2024).

The two leaders also discussed the situation in Ukraine, and Mr. Modi “briefed” Mr. Biden about his visit to Kyiv last week. In addition, they discussed the U.S.-India-Japan-Australia Quadrilateral, hours after Mr. Modi spoke in a telephone call with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about the Quad, indicating New Delhi’s keenness to set a date for the Quad summit that it is meant to host this year, and has been attempting to schedule next month around the U.N. Summit of the Future on September 22 and 23.

“The two leaders expressed their shared concern over the situation in Bangladesh. They emphasised restoration of law and order and ensuring safety and security of the minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release, referring to the call that Mr. Modi received from Mr. Biden, and said they had discussed progress in the India-U.S. bilateral relationship and strategic partnership.

This is the first such conversation between the two leaders since the protests in Bangladesh forced Sheikh Hasina to resign as Prime Minister and arrive in Delhi to stay indefinitely. In statements in the past, Ms. Hasina had blamed the U.S. for instigating protests against her.

In violence that followed her departure, many of those belonging to the minority Hindu community were amongst supporters of the ruling Awami League party who were targeted by mobs, and India has repeatedly raised its concerns over attacks on the Hindu community with the newly installed interim regime led by Muhammad Yunus.

“While discussing the situation in Ukraine, Prime Minister [Modi] briefed President Biden on his recent visit to Ukraine. He reiterated India’s consistent position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy and expressed full support for early return of peace and stability,” the Ministry of External Affairs added.

During his visit to Kyiv on September 23, Mr. Modi had discussed India’s stand “for peace” in talks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a visit that followed weeks after his visit to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.