Modi to attend Tokyo launch of US trade initiative

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in US President Joseph Biden’s unveiling of the “Indo-Pacific Economic Framework” (IPEF) in Tokyo on Monday, a US initiative for trade partnerships in the region, sources confirmed.

Mr. Modi’s attendance of the event is a significant step towards building economic ties amongst Quad countries in the Indo-Pacific, although officials were hesitant to bill the IPEF as a counter the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the 17-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that China is a member of.

Briefing the media ahead of the event, US, NSA Jake Sullivan said that the IPEF would have a “very wide-ranging membership”, adding, significantly, that the programme is “designed to put workers at the center — American workers,” with a focus on the digital economy, clean energy transition, infrastructure and resilient supply chains.