Reuters-As Biden Modi meet before G20 US press sidelined
September 8, 2023 2 min 420 words
这篇报道引发了一些关于新闻自由和透明度的担忧。封闭的会议让美国记者和摄影师无法亲眼见证并记录拜登总统与莫迪总理的会面，这在国际关系中是不寻常的。这种情况引发了一些疑虑，尤其是在印度和美国之间的合作伙伴关系中，应该更加注重公开透明。 新闻自由是民主社会的重要组成部分，它确保了公众对领导人行动的了解。尽管印度和美国之间不是正式的条约盟友，但这并不应该成为限制媒体报道的理由。新闻机构应该拥有充分的权利，以履行其监督角色，报道两国领导人会晤的重要内容。 这个问题还凸显了国际政治中的复杂性，特别是在美国试图将印度视为中国在亚洲的战略对手的背景下。在这一时刻，透明和开放的沟通渠道对于建立信任和合作至关重要。 最终，新闻自由和透明度应该被视为维护民主价值观和国际关系稳定的关键要素，不应受到政治考虑的妨碍。这个事件应该引发国际社会对于新闻自由的重要性的深思。
U.S. President Joe Biden headed into a closed-door meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, shortly after arriving in New Delhi for a G20 summit over the weekend.
As Biden and Modi met at the Prime Minister's residence, the U.S. press corps was sequestered in a van, out of eyesight of the two leaders - an unusual situation for the reporters and photographers who follow the U.S. President at home and around the world to witness and record his public appearances.
Biden and Modi last met in person in June when the Indian leader was the guest of a White House state visit. The two men are expected to discuss progress on a number of agreements reached in June, including a deal to allow General Electric (GE.N) to produce jet engines in India to power Indian military aircraft.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen joined the meeting, as did White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, the White House said in a statement. Indian attendees included external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and security adviser Ajit Doval.
Reporters didn't see Biden or Yellen arrive, and were parked in a van outside Modi's residence, a complex in central New Delhi, for about 10 minutes before being asked to leave.
Sullivan told reporters ahead of the meeting that the talks would show "the breadth of the relationship between our countries."
Questions about press access on the India trip have been persistent, after the official White House schedule did not show that the usual pool of reporters would be allowed in for the start of the Modi-Biden meeting.
"Look, guys, we are doing everything that we can to make sure that there is access," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on the Air Force One flight to India.
Though the countries are not formal treaty-bound allies and India has long relished its independence, Washington wants Delhi to be a strategic counterweight to China.
Armed with cash for the World Bank and promises of sustained U.S. engagement, Biden hopes to persuade fast-growing economies in Africa, Latin America and Asia that there is an alternative to China's Belt and Road project, which has funneled billions of dollars to developing countries but left many deeply in debt.
After the G20, Biden is to visit Vietnam before returning to the United States later on Monday.