President Donald Trump to host PM Modi on June 25-26

This meeting comes at a time when Trump made critical comments about India while announcing America’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement.
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File photo | Reuters)
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File photo | Reuters)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States and will meet the US President Donald Trump on June 25-26. This will be the PM Modi's first bilateral visit to the US after Trump assumed the president's office on January 20 this year.

According to an official statement by the ministry of external affairs, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington DC on June 25-26, 2017, at the invitation of the President of the United States of America, The Honorable Donald J Trump.”

Announcing the visit from June 25, the external affairs ministry said the Modi-Trump discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement.

The visit is considered strategically significant in view of Trump 's push for stricter norms for issuance of H1-B visas and the US pulling out of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Trump has accused India and other countries of trying to extract billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from the developed world to sign up for the climate accord.

Apart from this, issues related to securities including Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and other international issues are expected to be discussed prominently during the meeting between the two leaders.

“Prime Minister will hold official talks with President Trump on June 26. Their discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement on issues of mutual interest and consolidation of multi-dimensional strategic partnership between India and the US," the ministry said.

US Defence Secretary James Mattis has already made it clear that his country recognises India "as a major defence partner partly out of respect for New Delhi's indispensable role in maintaining stability in the Indian Ocean region".  The US is exploring new ways to address new challenges as well from maritime security to the growing threat posed by the spread of terrorism in Southeast Asia, Mattis had said.

PM Modi last visited the US in June last year at the invitation of then US President Barack Obama. Ties between the two nations flourished under the Obama administration which saw India as a partner to balance China's growing weight in Asia. Modi traveled to Washington three times and Obama made a historic trip to India as chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2015.

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