India and US’ Accounts of Modi-Trump Meet Vary: Report

The two countries had differing things to say about the meeting, at least on two accounts, a report says.

US President Donald Trump meets with PM Modi at the United Nations General Assembly.

(Photo: PTI)

India and the United States have put out varying accounts of the summary of the meeting between US president Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, suggests a report from The Hindu.

The two countries had differing things to say about the meeting, at least on two accounts – on Afghanistan and on terror and Kashmir.

While India's foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said that there was no discussion on Afghanistan between the two leaders, the White House readout of the meeting said, "both leaders expressed concerns about the situation in Afghanistan. "Both shared ideas about how to work together to promote security and prosperity in the country," the White House readout was quoted by The Hindu as saying.

Gokhale also said that Modi and Trump's meet was split between a discussion on terror and trade. The Hindu quoted him as saying that "there was a long discussion on terrorism, in which Mr Modi explained in some detail the challenges India faced from terrorism, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, over the past 30 years."

The White House readout, however, had no mention of terrorism, according to the report.

It said that President Trump encouraged PM Modi to improve relations with Pakistan and fulfill his promise to better the lives of Kashmiri people.

However, in an official response to the daily, the foreign ministry said that the "readouts are hardly ever identical."

(With inputs from The Hindu)