Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald met in-person for the first time at the White House, Washington DC, in what was hailed as a "historic" meeting.
Watch Trump and Modi addressing the media:
Shortly after a closed-door meeting, the two leaders held delegation-level talks and subsequently issued a joint statement, wherein several topics were touched upon, including terrorism, security, economy and trade, and generic calls for strengthening the partnership between the two countries.
This was followed by a gala dinner hosted by the US President for Modi. Notably, this is the first dinner for a foreign dignitary at the White House under the Trump administration.
Here are the key takeaways from all that transpired during the eventful day for the two world leaders.
‘Leaders in Social Media’ Praise Each Other
At the outset, Modi and Trump showered praises on each other, with the former thanking Trump for his warm welcome, and the latter emphasising on the Modi government’s strong economic performance.
Subsequently, kicking off the media briefing, Trump underlined the "deep admiration" he has for India, saying that “the relationship between India and USA has never been better”.
The US President also labelled himself and Modi as “world leaders in social media”.
Modi, on his part, stressed on the importance of these talks, saying that they "are a significant moment in the cooperation between our nations", which, he referred to as "global engines of growth"
On Strengthening Anti-Terrorism And Security Cooperation
Terrorism and strengthening security cooperation constituted an important part of the meetings. This is what Modi and Trump had to say on the issue while addressing the media:
On Trade And Economy
Modi, during the press briefing, highlighted trade, commerce and investment as key areas of cooperation.
Along with these, he said that the two countries were also “actively looking at” the areas of technology, innovation and knowledge economy.
Meanwhile, Trump acknowledged the imminent implementation of the Goods and Services Tax reform on 1 July in India.
In just two weeks you will begin to implement largest tax overhaul in your country’s history, we are doing that also by the way.Donald Trump
While praising Modi for having a vision for improving infrastructure and fighting corruption, Trump stressed on the need to remove barriers so that US goods can be exported to India. He also said that there needs to be a reduction in the trade deficit. The President batted for increasing US energy exports to India which would be facilitated by sale of natural gas.
The meeting between the two leaders came just hours after the US State Department declared Syed Salahuddin, chief of Kashmiri militant group Hizbul Mujahideen, as a 'global terrorist'. India hailed this action, with Gopal Baglay, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, saying, "It does vindicate India's long standing position that cross-border terrorism has been behind disturbances created in Kashmir".
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
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