Biden and Modi last met in person in June when the Indian leader was the guest of a White House state visit. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen joined Friday's meeting, as did White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, the White House said in a statement. Biden spoke to Modi about the importance of a healthy democracy, Campbell told reporters. Modi, of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, has faced criticism about shrinking press freedom in India since he took office. His allies attacked the reporter afterward, in a targeted online harassment campaign that the White House later called "unacceptable" and "antithetical to the very principles of democracy."

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Persons: Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Biden, We're, we've, Kurt Campbell, Campbell, Eileen Laubacher, Modi, amiably, Janet Yellen, Jake Sullivan, Subrahmanyam, Ajit Doval, Amit Dave, Nandita Bose, Steve Holland, Heather Timmons, Grant McCool Organizations: Indian, U.S, U.S . National Security Council, South, U.S ., General Electric, Treasury, Friday's, White, REUTERS, World Bank, Biden, Bharatiya Janata Party, White House, Thomson Locations: DELHI, New Delhi, India, East, Europe, U.S, South Asia, Washington, Delhi, China, Africa, Latin America, Asia, Vietnam, United States, American