Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the US President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon at the Whitehouse. This is the first official meeting held between the two leaders after Trump assumed office as the President of US. Ahead of the meeting both leaders had expressed enthusiasm on meeting each other over the social media.
Modi in his statement had earlier said that India might not focus on signing major deals during this meet but will concentrate on building chemistry and friendly relations with US. As the leaders of the worlds two major democracies were scheduled to meet, everyone around the world were eager to know the consequences of the meeting.
Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump warmly welcomed Modi, as he reached White House on Monday afternoon. Both the leaders embraced each other as friends and partners, pledging to strengthen the economic ties between the two nations. On his welcome, Modi said that it is an honor for all 125 billion Indians to be welcomed by The President and the First Lady. As per the record of Trump he has not shared much cordial relations with some of its traditional allies, but in the case of the Indian Prime Minister, the very first meeting marked the rapport of good friendship between the two.
Sensitive issues like H-1B visas used by thousands of Indian software engineers to work in the United States and the US withdrawing from the Paris climate accord were tactfully disregarded as Modi was aware of the host’s sensitivities over the issues. The two instead held discussions on fighting against terrorism, the war in Afghanistan and defense cooperation.
$366 million sale of a transport carrier to India was sanctioned by US and the purchase of around 20 drones by India’s military was also approved. They also discussed about the prevailing issues of terrorist attacks over Afghanistan and US announced deploying 5000 additional troops to help the local army fight against the insurgent groups.
In his statement Trump said, “I would say the relationship between India and the United States has never been stronger, has never been better. I look forward to working with you, Mr. Prime Minister, to create jobs in our countries, to grow our economies and to create a trading relationship that is fair and reciprocal.”
Responding to this Modi added that, Indian government has initiated as many as 7000 flagship programes and reforms and that now India was proving a easy platform to all to do business in the country. He further added that India consider the United States as a primary partner in India’s socio-economic transformation. He clearly stated that “I am very clear about the fact that India’s interests lie in a strong, prosperous, and successful America.” Commenting on the signature slogan of Trump’s election campaign, Modi said that as his vision for a new India and President Trump’s vision for Making America Great Again are very similar, it will take the two nation’s cooperation to new heights.
Ahead of the meeting with trump, Modi had met Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. After the meeting the State Department announced that it was stopping the sanction on a senior figure in the Kashmiri separatist group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. Even US President had globally announced Syed Salahuddin also known as Mohammed Yusuf Shah a global terrorist, which itself marks a diplomatic victory for India.
Trump named himself and Modi as the ‘World Leaders in Social Media. He said that “I’m proud to announce to the media, to the American people and to the Indian people that Prime Minister Modi and I are world leaders in social media. We’re believers. Giving the citizens of our countries the opportunity to hear directly from their elected officials and for us to hear directly from them. I guess it’s worked very well in both cases.”
Trump has 32.8 million followers on Twitter and Modi seconds him with over 31 million followers. While on Facebook, Modi leading the duo, has 41.8 million followers and Trump has 23.6 million followers.