How Joe Biden made Modi laugh with a joke about his Indian relatives

Joe Biden jokes about possible India connection in meeting with Prime Minister Modi

Washington, Sep 24: US President Joe Biden, who had his first face-to-face meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, started off the conversation by talking about his possible Indian connection. He went down memory lane to recall a story when he was in Mumbai as the Vice President of the US in 2013.

He said that the Indian media had asked whether he had any relatives in India. "I said I'm not sure but when I was elected as a 29-year-old kid in 1972, before I was sworn in, I got a letter from a person named Biden, last name, from Mumbai. I was never able to follow up," he said.

He recalled the media telling him that there were five Bidens then living in India.

Elaborating further, Biden joked, "There was a Captain George Biden in the East India tea company. That is hard for an Irish person to admit. I shouldn't be so casual. I hope you are able to understand the humour. The end result was that he apparently stayed and married an Indian woman."

"I have never been able to track it down so the whole purpose of this meeting is to help me figure it out," Biden added triggering laughter among those present in the meeting room, including Prime Minister Modi. PTI RS AKJ RS

On his turn, Modi informed Biden that he has brought along with him a set of documents from the investigations he did on the Bidens in India. "Mr President, you have talked today and spoken in detail about the Biden surname in India. In fact, you had mentioned that to me earlier too. Well, after you mentioned that to me, I looked for documents," he said. "Today I have brought along a set of documents, maybe we'll be able to take this matter forward, and maybe those documents could be of use to you,"

On a serious note, Biden, speaking about the ties with India, said, "I've long believed that the US-India relationship can help us solve a lot of global challenges. In fact back in 2006 when I was the Vice President, I said that by 2020 India & the US will be among the closest nations in the world."

He added, "Technology is becoming a driving force. We have to utilise our talents to leverage technology for the greater global good."