Modi hails ‘growing convergence’ of US-India interests
WASHINGTON: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the increasing ‘convergence’ of US-Indian interests and values, as he prepared for his first facetoface meeting yesterday with President Donald Trump.
Modi brimmed with optimism about the future of trade and diplomatic relations between the world’s two largest democracies in an opinion piece appearing in Monday’s Wall Street Journal.
Following a visit to the United States one year ago, when he addressed a joint session of the US Congress, Modi wrote that he returns “confident in the growing convergence between our two nations.”
“This confidence stems from the strength of our shared values and the stability of our systems,” the Indian leader wrote.
“In an uncertain global economic landscape, our two nations stand as mutually reinforcing engines of growth and innovation,” he said in the daily.
“Whenever India and the US work together, the world reaps the benefits.”
Modi and Trump are due to hold afternoon talks and a working dinner at the White House, though no press conference is scheduled.
On Sunday, the Indian leader met with top American executives, painting for them a picture of a business- friendly India with “minimum” governmental encumbrances.
That message is expected to resonate with Trump, who has proposed streamlining what he calls business- hampering US regulations and cutting the budgets of several US government agencies.
“India believes that a strong America is good for the world,” Modi told the CEOs, according to the foreign ministry in New Delhi.
Despite the upbeat rhetoric, the relationship between the two leaders has hit some initial snags.
Trump accused India of seeking to profit from the Paris climate accord as he announced the US withdrawal from the deal this month – drawing sharp denials from New Delhi.
A proposed overhaul of H-1B visas – used by thousands of Indian software engineers to work in the United States – has also caused concern in New Delhi.