New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that India will work for an inclusive and flexible Indo-Pacific Economic Framework with trust, transparency, and timeliness playing a key role in the economic agreement. The statement came as PM Modi attended the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework event in Tokyo, Japan along with US President Joe Biden, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.


"India will work for an inclusive and flexible Indo-Pacific Economic Framework with all of you. I believe we should have three important foundations of a resilient supply chain among us. These are trust, transparency, and timeliness. I have faith that this framework will strengthen these pillars and will show the path of development, peace, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," PM Modi said.






Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden mentioned that Indo-Pacific covers half the world's population, "over 60 per cent of global GDP and nations are represented here today and those who join this framework in future are signing up to work toward an economic vision that will deliver for all our people."


He said that the vision is to ensure an Indo-Pacific that is free and open and secure as well as resilient, where economic growth is sustainable and inclusive, news agency ANI reported. 


"We are writing new rules for the 21st-century economy, we are going to have all our country's economies grow faster and fair," he stated, adding, "We'll do that by taking out some of the most acute challenges that drag down growth and by maximising the potential of our strongest growth engines."


At the event, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida highlighted that Japan has been contributing to the stable prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region in cooperation with the US and regional partners.


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US President Joe Biden Announces Indo-Pacific Economic Framework


Earlier in the day, the US announced that 12 countries will join the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a pact designed to bolster trade with Asian economies.


President Joe Biden on Monday launched the new trade deal with 12 Indo-Pacific nations aimed at strengthening their economies as he warned Americans worried about high inflation that it was going to be a haul before they feel relief, the Associated Press reported.


Speaking at a news conference after holding talks with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Biden acknowledged the US economy has problems but said they were "less consequential than the rest of the world has.


"This is going to be a haul. This is going to take some time," he said as he rejected the idea a recession in the US was inevitable.


The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework aims to address the need for stability in commerce after disruptions caused by the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.


Nations joining the US in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework are Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Along with the United States, they represent 40% of world GDP.


The countries said in a joint statement that the pact will help them collectively prepare their economies for the future following disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.


The White House stated that the framework will help the United States and Asian economies work more closely on issues including supply chains, digital trade, clean energy, worker protections and anticorruption efforts. 


The details still need to be negotiated among the member countries.