Modi doing great job: Trump

Washington, June 26

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met US President Donald Trump for their first summit with focus on pushing the strategic ties.

In a special gesture, Trump and First Lady Melania came out on the South Portico of the White House to receive Modi.

Trump and his wife warmly welcomed Modi and they were seen exchanging pleasantries and having a brief interaction before going inside the White House.

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Just before the talks, Trump said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been doing a great job. “Economically, India is doing very well; It is an honour to receive ‘such a great Prime Minister’”,  he said.

As the two leaders sat for the meeting, Modi expressed gratitude to Trump and the First Lady for the warm welcome extended to him.

He said the welcome extended to him was a welcome to 125 crore people of India. The Prime Minister said Trump has been paying attention to India’s growth march and economic progress. He recalled that Trump had visited India in 2014 before he became the President and made nice comments. Among the issues on the table were counter-terrorism cooperation, defence partnership, global cooperation, trade and energy.

Ahead of the meeting, Modi said the logic of the Indo-US strategic ties is “incontrovertible” and the two countries

have an overriding interest in securing the world from terrorism, radical ideologies and non-traditional security threats. Earlier, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis separately called on Modi, setting the tone for the summit meeting between the Prime Minister and Trump. The issues that figured prominently in these discussions included terrorism, Afghanistan and the situation in the Asia Pacific region.

“There was a strong focus on terrorism and cooperation in counter-terrorism,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Gopal Baglay told reporters while briefing on the meeting between Modi and Tillerson.

“It is very clear that given the challenges that the two countries have faced and continue to face and the rest of the world also faces from this global menace of terrorism, the discussions in the courtesy call touched upon how the two sides have cooperated in countering terrorism and the broad direction in which they can develop this cooperation further,” he added.

Modi conveyed to Tillerson that the “fulcrum of India’s foreign policy” is to have good relations with all nations, “in particular with its neighbours.”

Discussions between Modi and Mattis focussed on the Asia Pacific region, with a veiled reference to the South China Sea over which China is laying an absolute claim.

Baglay said both India and the US believe in respect for international law, rule-based order and freedom of navigation. He said there was discussion also on counter-terrorism and on the situation in Afghanistan and the conversation with Mattis briefly touched upon how the two countries can work together on the issue.

Mattis also appreciated India’s role in Afghanistan, Baglay said. “In the context of the evaluation that is currently underway in the US on policy in context of the situation in Afghanistan, both sides decided that they would remain in touch, consult, cooperate and focus on the security situation in Afghanistan,” he said. — PTI