US President Biden to meet PM Modi in Papua New Guinea later this month

US President Joe Biden will be meeting PM Narendra Modi later this month as the two leaders will join Pacific Islands leaders meet for a "historic" future-oriented meeting, The White House said in a statement on Tuesday.

"President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will make a historic stop in Papua New Guinea while travelling from the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima, Japan to the Quad Leaders' Summit in Sydney, Australia later this month. While 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 U.S.-Pacific Island Summit in Washington, DC last fall," the statement 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, the press release stated.

"As a Pacific nation, the United States has deep historical and people-to-people ties with the Pacific Islands, and this visit - the first time a sitting U.S. President has visited a Pacific Island country - further reinforces this critical partnership," it added.

Biden's visit would be the first visit by a sitting US President to the resource-rich but largely undeveloped country of 9.4 million people just north of Australia, Reuters reported.