US President Joe Biden raised the Issue of human rights with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

At a press conference in Hanoi, the United States President, Joe Biden said that he raised the issue of human rights with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the sidelines of the Delhi Chapter of the G20 Summit, on Sunday.

“He and I have had substantial discussions about how we’re going to continue to strengthen the partnership between India and the United States, building on the Prime Minister’s visit to the White House last June. And, as I always do, I raised the importance of respecting human rights and the vital role that civil society and a free press have in building a strong and prosperous country with Mr. Modi,” said the US president. Biden further elucidated that the aforementioned issue was brought up by him as it forms the scaffold on which any democratic nation rests.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the US President at his official residence on September 8. As reported by The Wire, the minutes of the meeting said that Modi “conveyed his appreciation for President Biden’s vision and commitment to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, which is based on shared democratic values, strategic convergences and strong people-to-people ties”.

Kurt Campbell, Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs in the US National Security Council told reporters that the US President discussed the ‘importance of a healthy democracy’ with the Indian Prime Minister. “He doesn’t do this in such a way that suggests that one country is lecturing to another but rather that we all face shared challenges,” he added.​