PM meets CEOs of 17 firms
Ahead of his ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston, Prime Minister Narendra Modi engaged with a cross section of the local Indian community which included Kashmiri Pandits, Dawoodi Bohras and the Sikhs.
The delegation of the Kashmiri Pandits “unequivocally” supported the steps being taken by the government with regard to scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. During the interaction, one member of the Kashmiri Pandits delegation got emotional and went on to say, “Thank you on behalf of seven lakh Kashmiri Pandits.”
PM Modi assured the 17member delegation of “building a new Kashmir” which would be for everyone. “Kashmir mein naee hava bah rahee hai (New winds are blowing in Kashmir) and we will all build a new Kashmir together that will be for everyone,” he told the delegation. Mr Modi also thanked the community for their patience for over
30 years saying, “You all have suffered a lot.”
“I had a special interaction with Kashmiri Pandits in Houston,” Mr Modi tweeted.
Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the Kashmiri Pandits expressed support for the steps taken by the Indian government for the progress of India. The delegation also presented a memorandum to Mr Modi, requesting him to set up a task force under the ministry of home affairs to develope the region and repatriate Kashmiri Pandits.
The 50-member Sikh delegation too lauded Mr Modi for the “path-breaking decisions” taken by the Indian government in the recent years and thanked the PM for deleting In a bid to energise IndiaUnited States trade ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with the business heads of 17 energy companies shortly after arriving in Houston.
On the sidelines of the meeting, an MoU was signed between Houstonbased energy major Tellurian and India’s Petronet LNG.
Petronet will invest $2.5
the names of over 312 Sikh members from the adverse list (blacklist). These Sikh foreign nationals were alleged to be involved in anti-India activities and their names were removed after a review was carried out by the MHA.
“We urged the Prime Minister to provide visa and passport services to the Sikh political asylees. This is important for the large Sikh community living in the US to visit India in a year when we are celebrating billion in Tellurian’s proposed Driftwood LNG export terminal, in exchange for the rights to 5 million mt. tons of LNG per year over 40 years, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.
The roundtable discussion with the 17 CEOs was the first engagement of Mr Modi on arrival in the US. The combined net worth of these 17 companies is US$1 trillion with a presence in 150 countries. All companies have some engagement, presence with or in India.
550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev ji,” one member of the delegation said.
The delegation also urged PM to change the name of Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi to Guru Nanak Dev International airport to mark the 550th birth anniversary Guru Nanak Dev ji.
In his brief remarks to the Sikh delegation, The PM said that he has a good news for them in the next few days and urged them to wait. Mr Modi later
“Further energising India-USA bond. Among the first engagements of PM @narendramodi in Houston is a meeting with CEOs from the energy sector. India and USA are looking to diversify cooperation in this sector,” tweeted PM Office.
Mr Kumar added the CEOs talked about enhancing their footprint in India. “The objective of the meeting was to deepen our energy cooperation as part of our strategic energy partnership,” Mr Kumar said.
tweeted saying, “I had an excellent interaction with the Sikh Community in Houston. I am delighted to see their passion towards India’s development!”
The Prime Minister also met a delegation of the Dawoodi Bohras who felicitated him with a shawl. “The Dawoodi Bohra community has distinguished itself across the world. In Houston, I had the opportunity to spend time with them and speak about a wide range of issues,” Mr Modi tweeted.