Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump took giant steps to deepen ties between the two countries by pledging to work together in diverse areas, including defence, counter-terrorism, law enforcement, civil nuclear energy, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and trade.
The personal equation between the two leaders was very much in evidence as they met at the White House in Washington for a long meeting to discuss a range of bilateral issues as well as global developments. Indian officials said the ”fruitful” meeting lasted nearly four hours, including talks between the two delegations.
This was the first meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump after the inauguration of the American leader for a second term. Trump is now expected to visit India later this year for the QUAD Summit which will also see the participation of the Prime Ministers of Australia and Japan.
Addressing the joint conference alongside US President Donald Trump after their bilateral talks at the White House in Washington, Prime Minister Modi said, “India and the United States have stood firmly together in the fight against terrorism. We agree that concerted action is necessary to eradicate cross-border terrorism.”
A joint statement outlining the way forward for India- US ties was adopted after the talks.
According to India – US Joint Statement, Modi and Trump reaffirmed that the global scourge of terrorism must be fought and terrorist safe havens eliminated from every corner of the world.
“They committed to strengthen cooperation against terrorist threats from groups, including Al-Qa’ida, ISIS, Jaish-e Mohammad, and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba in order to prevent heinous acts like the attacks in Mumbai on 26/11 and the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan on August 26, 2021,” the statement said.
“Recognizing a shared desire to bring to justice those who would harm our citizens, the US announced that the extradition to India of Tahawwur Rana has been approved,” it said.
Addressing the joint conference, Modi said, “I am thankful to the President that he has decided to hand over the culprit who committed the killings in India in 2008, to India now. Indian courts will now take appropriate action.”
Modi and Trump also pledged to work together to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems and to deny access to such weapons by terrorists and non-state actors, the statement said.
“The leaders also committed to strengthen law enforcement cooperation to take decisive action against illegal immigration networks, organized crime syndicates, including narco-terrorists human and arms traffickers, as well as other elements who threaten public and diplomatic safety and security, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both nations,” the statement said.
Addressing the joint press conference, PM Modi said India and the US have set a USD 500 billion target for bilateral trade by 2023 and added that the teams of two nations will work together to finalise a mutually beneficial trade agreement.
PM Modi said the people of the US are aware of Trump’s motto MAGA while the people of India are moving towards the goal of Viksit Bharat 2047. He said India and the US will strengthen the oil and gas trade to ensure India’s energy security.
He said, “The people of America are well aware of President Trump’s motto ‘MAGA – Make America Great Again.’ The people of India too are focusing on heritage and development as they move forward at a fast pace and with a firm resolve towards the goal of Viksit Bharat 2047. In the language of America, it’s Make India Great Again – MIGA. When America and India work together, this MAGA plus MIGA becomes a ‘mega partnership for prosperity’ and it is this mega spirit that gives new scale and scope to our objectives.
“Today, we have also set a target to increase our bilateral trade to more than double, reaching USD 500 billion by 2030. Our teams will work on finalising very soon a mutually beneficial trade agreement.”
PM Modi announced that India and the US are moving forward in the direction of joint development, joint production and transfer of technology.
“We will strengthen the oil and gas trade to ensure India’s energy security. Investment in energy infrastructure will also increase. In the nuclear energy sector, we also talked about increasing cooperation in the direction of Small Modular Reactors,” PM Modi said.
Modi further said India and the United States will work together in Artificial Intelligence, Semiconductors, Quantum, Biotechnology, and other technologies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump shared a hug as the latter welcomed the former at the White House. Trump and PM Modi warmly greeted each other and shook hands. While meeting PM Modi, Trump said, “We missed you, we missed you a lot.”