WASHINGTON — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US Vice-President Kamala Harris here on Thursday, marking the first in-person meeting of Modi and the highest-ranking Indian American in US history.

Harris is the first woman and first black and South Asian vice-president. Modi congratulated Harris on her historic position and invited her to return the visit. "The people of India are waiting to welcome you," he said.

Modi's three-day trip ends on Friday, when he will meet President Joe Biden for the first time. The meeting comes as the Taliban establishes its new governing structure in Afghanistan, weeks after seizing power of the country.

Modi will also attend the so-called "Quad" summit with Biden and leaders of Australia and Japan on Friday — part of a White House effort to boost cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Ahead of the talks, both Modi and Harris issued a joint statement and praised the support provided by the two countries to each other during the COVID-19 pandemic. Harris also hailed India's vaccination drive and welcomed the announcement of India resuming vaccine exports.

Calling Harris' election an inspiration, Modi said that he expects the bilateral ties between the two countries to improve under her and Biden's leadership.

The bilateral talks, held at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House, were also attended by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

Harris, in a joint statement issued with Modi ahead of the bilateral talks, called India an important partner of the United States and praised India's COVID-19 fight and climate change efforts.

"I know that India takes the issue of climate crisis seriously. We believe that the US and India working together can have a profound impact not only on the people of our nations but the world," Harris said.

"On COVID-19, our nations have worked together. Early in the pandemic, India was a vital source of vaccines for other countries," she added.

Harris said that when India experienced the surge in the cases of COVID-19, the United States was proud to support India in its need and its responsibility to vaccinate its people.

"I welcome India's announcement that it will soon be able to resume vaccine exports. It is particular note and admiration that India is currently vaccinating approximately 10 million people a day as of today," Harris said.

Harris also stressed upon "protecting democracies" which she said would be "in the best interest of the people of our countries".

"As democracies around the world are under threat, it is imperative that we defend democratic principles and institutions within our respective countries and around the world and that we maintain what we must do to strengthen democracies at home.

“And it is incumbent on our nations, of course, to protect democracies in the best interest of the people of our countries," she said, according to ANI.

“I know from personal experience and from my family of the commitment of the Indian people to democracy,” she said, according to Los Angeles Times, “and the work that needs to be done [so that] we can begin to imagine, and then actually achieve, our vision for democratic principles and institutions.”

Praising Harris, Modi said: "Your election as Vice President of USA has been an important and historic event. You are a source of inspiration for many across the world. I am confident that under President Biden and your leadership, our bilateral relations will touch new heights."

Modi expressed gratitude for the help provided by the US during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India.

"India and America are natural partners; we have similar values, geopolitical interests, and our coordination and cooperation is also increasing," he said. Modi said that the vibrant and strong people-to-people connections between India and the US are a bridge between the two countries.

Modi also held bilateral talks with his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison to discuss "deepening economic and people-to-people linkages between India and Australia," the PMO said.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) called the meeting between Modi and Morrison "another chapter in our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Australia." Morrison said he looked forward to deeping the partnership with India

"Discussed regional & global developments as well as ongoing bilateral cooperation in areas related to COVID-19, trade, defense, clean energy & more (sic)," the MEA tweeted.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that PM Scott Morrison "briefly mentioned the rationale from the Australian side in seeking to initiate the AUKUS alliance".

"He felt that the technology they received was appropriate and there was a brief discussion in that regard," Shringla said while addressing a press conference on Modi's first day of engagements in the US.

Modi also met Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, which was their first in-person meeting after the latter took over the reins from Shinzo Abe in September of 2020.

Modi had held a telephonic conversation with Suga in April this year. The two had discussed cooperation in diverse areas, including high technology, skill development, and combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

India and Japan, along with the US and Australia, will be participating in the first in-person summit of the Quad on Sept. 24, hosted by Biden. "The leaders will review progress made since their first virtual summit on March 12, 2021, and discuss regional issues of shared interests", the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said.

Earlier, Modi met several dignitaries including Qualcomm CEO Cristiano R Amon, Adobe Chairman Shantanu Narayen, and First Solar CEO Mark Widmar, among others.

In his meeting with Amon, Modi discussed leveraging technology for public and tech opportunities in India. Calling the meeting fruitful, Modi said that Amon was interested in India's stride in 5G.

"We spoke on semiconductors which is an important topic of conversation. We spoke on opportunity to continue to build an incredible mobile ecosystem developing in India. We're happy with everything we're doing together with India," Amon said.

"I think the approach to driving economic growth in making India a destination for investment has been very successful and we welcome that," he added. — Agencies