US President Biden and quad leaders praised PM Modi

US President Joe Biden praised PM Modi for his handling of the Covid pandemic successfully in a democratic manner, during a closed session of the Quad Summit in Tokyo, a senior official said.

He added that PM Modi's success has shown the world that democracies can deliver, and busted the myth that autocracies like China and Russia can handle the rapidly-changing world better because their leadership can take and implement decisions without going through lengthy democratic processes.

According to the official, these remarks from President Biden appeared to be unscripted, as he made a special intervention to say this before his prepared remarks. Biden contrasted India's success with China's failure in handling the pandemic, though both countries are of comparable size.

Newly-elected Australian PM Anthony Albanese said, in the same closed session, that vaccines supplied by India to other countries have made a difference on the ground, and such success is more valuable than just winning a theoretical debate of ideas.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also appreciated India's contribution and recalled that Indian-made vaccines delivered under the Quad Vaccine Initiative were received with gratitude in Thailand and Cambodia recently. He also noted that in Cambodia, PM Hun Sen himself attended the handing-over ceremony.