Trump: Modi a ‘true friend’
US Prez’s first official dinner for a visiting foreign leader tonight
Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “true friend”, US President Donald Trump has said he looks forward to the Indian leader’s visit to the United States, which began on Sunday. “Look forward to welcoming India’s PM Modi to @WhiteHouse on Monday. Important strategic issues to discuss with a true friend!,” Mr Trump posted from his official (@POTUS)
Defence, terror and Pakistan’s role, rising China assertiveness in Asia, nuclear deal issues are likely to come up. India also likely to raise H-1B visa issues and climate deal
Twitter handle. Mr Modi, meanwhile, arrived in Washington on the second leg of his three-nation tour for his first bilateral meeting with US President Trump, as the two leaders are set to hold discussions on a set of “strategically important” issues. Mr Modi, in his response to Mr Trump’s tweet, thanked him for the “warm personal welcome” and said he was “greatly” looking forward to the meeting and discussions at the White House.
Despite President Trump’s earlier targeting of India recently over the Paris climate change agreement and fears over his maverick nature, the US President’s tweet now has raised hopes that India-US ties would continue to remain strong and continue its momentum from the days of the Obama administration.
Mr Trump will host Mr Modi at the White House on Monday afternoon (Tuesday early morning IST) and the two leaders will spend about five hours together in various settings, starting with their bilateral discussion, delegation-level talks, a reception and a working dinner, the first of its kind hosted by this administration.
Speculation is rife that India will focus on the areas of convergence with the United States like
Continued from Page 1 defence, the strategic partnership, ways to tackle terrorism that emanates from Pakistan and the increasing Chinese assertiveness in the AsiaPacific region. But at the same time, New Delhi is also expected to raise important concerns like the H-1B visa issue and also stick by its stand on the Paris agreement on climate change.
PTI reported that the Indo-US civil nuclear deal is also expected to figure during the talks between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump on Monday, but a pact between NPCIL and Westinghouse to build six nuclear power reactors in Andhra Pradesh is unlikely to be signed. These reports said that financial turmoil in Westinghouse and the absence of a functional reference atomic plant were the main impediments behind the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd’s unwillingness to sign the agreement with the American nuclear giant.
“The White House is very interested in making this a special visit. We’re really seeking to roll out the red carpet. In fact, the two (leaders) will have dinner, a working dinner at the White House. This will be the first dinner for a foreign dignitary at the White House under this administration. So we think that’s very significant,” a senior administration official was quoted as telling reporters at the White House.
The PM interacted with about 20 top American CEOs on Sunday night, that will be followed by an Indian-American community event in a Washington D.C. suburb. The programme is likely to be attended by about 600 members of the community.
At his meeting with the CEOs, Mr Modi said India had emerged as a business-friendly destination, more so with the coming implementation of GST from next month, and asked the CEOs to invest more in the country.
In a roundtable interaction with the group, including Tim Cook of Apple, Satya Nadella from Microsoft, Sunder Pichai from Google, John Chambers from Cisco and Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Mr Modi listed the steps taken by his government in the past three years and the next moves.
“The whole world is looking at India. 7,000 reforms alone by GOI for
The Indo-US civil nuclear deal is also expected to figure during the talks between Modi and Trump on Monday
A pact between NPCIL and Westinghouse to build six nuclear power reactors in Andhra Pradesh is unlikely to be signed
The Prime Minister interacted with about 20 top American CEOs on Sunday night, that will be followed by an Indian-American community event in a Washington D.C. suburb
ease of (doing) business and minimum government, maximum governance,” MEA spokesman Gopal Bagley said in a tweet from inside the meeting, quoting the Prime Minister.
On Monday, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi will not address a press conference but they will issue individual press statements.
US Senator Kamala Harris tweeted that she welcomes “Indian PM @NarendraModi to the United States and reaffirm the unbreakable bonds between our two nations”.
The Trump administration said it was rolling out the “red carpet” for Mr Modi, emphasising that it is wrong to say the US is ignoring or not focusing on India. “President Trump realises that India is a force for good and that will come through in the visit on Monday,” a senior official said.
A host of strategic issues are expected to be discussed during the bilateral talks between the two leaders of the world’s largest democracies, including defence ties, boosting economic links, discussions on the civil nuclear deal, cooperation on combating terrorism, security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and India’s concerns over the H-1B work visas.
“We anticipate their discussions will be broadranging, hitting on a variety of regional and global issues that would seek to advance our common priorities, including fighting terrorism, promoting economic growth and prosperity,” an official said, briefing reporters at the White House.