New Delhi, October 1 – In their first summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama on Tuesday pledged to push the bilateral relationship to “new levels”, resolve issues blocking implementation of the civil nuclear deal and cooperate in counter terrorism.
During their hour-long discussions, which covered a broad range of issues including economic cooperation, trade and investment, Modi raised the demand for easier access to Indian services in the US.
After the two countries reached an agreement on extending their defence cooperation for ten more years, the prime minister invited American companies to participate in Indian defence manufacturing sector.
The discussions, the first formal meeting between the two leaders spread over delegation and restricted levels, covered terrorism in South Asia and emerging threats in West Asia.
Modi drove straight from Blair House to the famous West Wing of the White House to hold talks with Obama, first in restrictive format followed by delegation level. This was the second meeting between Modi and Obama, who hosted a private dinner for the Indian prime minister on his arrival from New York.
While Modi was accompanied by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Ambassador S. Jaishankar and other senior officials of the MEA and PMO while Obama was assisted by Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal.
After Indo-US summit on Mars, Obama-Modi meet on Earth Noting that he and President Barack Obama were meeting just days after the Indian and the US missions reached Mars, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that after the Indo-US summit on the Red Planet, it’s the turn of the leaders of the two nations to meet here on earth.
“This happy coincidence captures the potential of our relationship,” Modi said, during a joint press event with President Obama. The two leaders had held talks on substantive bilateral, regional and international issues including defence, security and Islamic State militant threat in West Asia.
India had on September 24 created space history by successfully placing its low-cost Mars spacecraft in orbit around the Red Planet in its very first attempt, catapulting the country into an elite club of three nations.
-INDIA TODAY
