Biden, PM Modi To Meet Pacific Islands Leaders This Month Amid China's Rising Influence In Region

PM Modi and Biden will stop in Papua New Guinea for the meeting and then leave for Australia for a May 24 summit of the Quad.

PM Narendra Modi and Joe Biden, President of the United States of America, at the G20 summit last year

US President Joe Biden will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this month as the two leaders will join Pacific Islands leaders next month for a "historic" future-oriented meeting, Reuters reported. Modi and Biden will stop in Papua New Guinea on their way to Australia for a May 24 summit of the Quad, which also includes Japan and Australia.

This will be the first time that a sitting US President will be visiting a Pacific Island country.

In a statement, the White House said Biden would make an historic stop in Papua New Guinea while traveling from the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

"In Papua New Guinea, President Biden will meet with Prime Minister Marape of Papua New Guinea and other Pacific Island Forum leaders to follow up on the first-ever US–Pacific Island Summit in Washington, DC last fall," the White House said.

The leaders will discuss ways to deepen cooperation on challenges critical to the region and to the United States such as combating climate change, protecting maritime resources, and advancing resilient and inclusive economic growth.

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Last week, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said the meeting would be a "historic first" and at the same time a "going forward" futuristic meeting of global superpowers in the biggest country in the Pacific, Reuters reported.

The meeting comes at a time when Papua New Guinea is being courted by China as the island nation seeks to boost foreign investment.

US has stepped up efforts to counter China's growing influence in the region after Beijing struck a security pact with the Solomon Islands last year. However, China failed to reach a wider security and trade deal with 10 Pacific island countries, Reuters reported.

The 18 countries and territories in the Pacific Islands Forum cover 30 million square km (10 million square miles) of ocean, which holds strategic importance.