This Article is From Sep 30, 2014

PM Modi, President Obama Hold Bilateral Talks at the White House

PM Modi, President Obama Hold Bilateral Talks at the White House

PM Modi with US President Barack Obama (Press Trust of India photo)

New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama have begun bilateral talks at the Oval Office in the White House. The two leaders plan to discuss issues ranging from manufacturing to sanitation as they aim to deepen ties.

The summit is being held in two parts - a one-on-one meeting and delegation talks - and is part of an effort aimed at expanding security partnerships and spurring foreign investment.

In an editorial published on The Washington Post website this morning, with the byline, "By Narendra Modi and Barack Obama," the two leaders said that "it is time to set a new agenda" between their countries.

"When we meet today in Washington, we will discuss ways in which we can boost manufacturing and expand affordable renewable energy, while sustainably securing the future of our common environment," they wrote.

Last night Mr Modi and Mr Obama also issued a joint "vision statement" after their first get-together at a White House dinner, that laid out their plan to expand and deepen their countries' strategic partnership.

In the editorial today, they wrote, "The true potential of our relationship has yet to be fully realized. The advent of a new government in India is a natural opportunity to broaden and deepen our relationship."

They also said, "our partnership is robust, reliable and enduring, and it is expanding." And signed off by saying, "Forward together we go - chalein saath saath."

Mr Modi and Mr Obama wrote that they also plan to discuss shared intelligence on terrorism and regional concerns, apart from clean energy, climate change, medical collaboration to fight diseases and scientific efforts to improve sanitation and hygiene throughout India.

The United States has been keen to expand business and security ties with India, which it sees as a key counterbalance to an increasingly assertive China in Asia.

Mr Modi, who was denied a visa to the United States in 2005 on human rights grounds over communal riots in his home state of Gujarat three years before that, has been courted heavily by the US since he took office.

He received a warm welcome in the US, speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York and meeting with 17 US corporate CEOs in New York. Later today, he is scheduled to have lunch with Vice President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State John Kerry and then address the US-India Business Council (USIBC) comprising over 300 top US companies. 
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