New Delhi, Sep 19 (Reporter) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Quad Summit in Delaware on September 21, during which the two sides will exchange an agreement related to the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) and one on India-US Drug framework. Giving details of PM Modi’s September 21-23 visit to the US, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at a briefing that while India has already inked the Supply Chain Resilience Agreement of the IPEF, it will formally sign the Agreement on Clean Economy and Fair Economy, which constitute Pillars 3 and 4 of the IPEF, at the Delaware meeting. The Supply Chain Resilience constitutes Pillar 2. “Agreements on signing and ratifying the two agreements has been done, and at the event in Wilmington (Delaware), we will be depositing the agreements. Work on the Trade Pillar continues,” he said. India has yet to sign the trade pillar (Pillar-I of IPEF) that is aimed at strengthening economic engagement among the partner countries, excluding China. Seen as an attempt to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region, US President Joe Biden launched the IPEF in Tokyo on 23 May 2022. The 14 members include USA, Australia, India, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The IPEF framework comprises four pillars of trade, supply chains, clean energy and tax and anti-corruption. All 14 IPEF members, including India, signed the supply chains resilience agreement which entered into force on February 24, 2024. “The bilateral meeting will be an opportunity to have substantive engagements between PM Modi and President Biden, to review the Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership, through the many bilateral mechanisms. The bilateral will give PM Modi the opportunity to thank President Biden for his pioneering role in bilateral initiatives like the Critical and Emerging Technology one,” he said. The Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) was launched by the two National Security Advisors in Washington on January 31, 2023 to facilitate strategic technology collaborations in critical and emerging technologies, co-development, and co-production, connect the respective innovation ecosystems especially in AI, quantum, telecom, space, biotech, semiconductors, emerging defence technologies and biotech...////...