American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York on Tuesday evening said that he sees a very "bright future for India."
Mr Tyson who is an author and science communicator read out a quote from his book "Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier" when he met PM Modi.
"For me the sky is not the limit," Tyson said while showing PM Modi his book to which the latter responded with a "wah!" and the two shared a laugh and posed for photographers.
Neil deGrasse Tyson later said, "I'm quite sure I'm not alone when I say the potential for what India can accomplish knows no limits," he said following his meeting with PM Modi.
The Prime Minister also took to his Twitter to post about his meeting with the American astrophysicist. "Talked space, science and related issues with @neiltyson. Highlighted steps India is taking to reform the space sector and draw more youngsters towards science as well as innovation," PM Modi tweeted.
Mr Tyson said that he was "delighted to spend time in the company of a head of state who is as scientifically thoughtful as is Prime Minister Modi."
Mr Tyson and PM Modi also held conversations about science and technology, and engineering and maths.
"So many leaders of the world that I think their priorities might be out of balance with what it needs to be going into the 21st century," Tyson said.
"With all of the challenges we have in civilization, the solutions are going to come from innovations in science and technology and engineering and maths. And it's very clear to me that he (PM Modi) cares about all of this," the US astrophysicist said.
The science communicator also said that PM Modi reserved his conversations about space for the next time but he was sure space matters quite a bit to the Indian prime minister.
"Obviously, he reserved his conversations about space for me, and I guess Elon (musk) was here a few minutes before I got here. But it's clear that space matters quite a bit to the Prime Minister, so I was delighted to hear about future programs that he has in mind. I'm quite sure I'm not alone when I say the potential for what India can accomplish knows no limits," Tyson said.
Prime Minister Modi who is on his first state visit to the US has met with high-profile personalities, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, author Nicholas Nassim Taleb and investor Ray Dalio among others.
