Washington DC:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama today held bilateral talks at the Oval Office in the White House. The two leaders are now holding a joint press briefing.
Here are the highlights:
US President Barack Obama speaks:- We had an outstanding discussion on a range of issues
- Discussed the peaceful transition of power in Afghanistan and the need for all of us to work together
- Discussed how we can work together on a whole host of issues from space exploration to humanitarian crisis
- Throughout this conversation, I'm impressed with Prime Minister's interest in not only addressing the needs of the poorest of the poor in India and revitalising the economy there, but also his determination to make sure that India is serving as a major power that can help bring about peace and security to the world.
- Look forward to building upon relationship with India
PM Modi Speaks:
- My conversation with President Obama has reinforced my conviction that India and US are natural partners
- In India we have laid emphasis on changing both policy and processes that would ease doing business in India.
- I believe India-US economic partnership will grow rapidly in the coming years
- We had open discussions on WTO issues. India supports trade facilitation but we want a solution that would take care of our concerns on food security
- We have agreed to consult and cooperate on climate change - an area of strong priority for both nations
- There was great convergence in international matters
- We discussed existing terrorism challenges including in south Asia and new threats in west Asia and beyond.
- Shared concern on Ebola crisis in Africa for which India has committed $12 million
- America is an integral part of our Look East, Link West policy
- We are serious about resolution of issues on both sides to enable civil nuclear energy cooperation to take off
- Want to welcome US defence companies
- We both are committed to helping Afghanistan and improving our coordination in this area
- Look forward to receiving President Obama and his family in India at a convenient time