With navigation in Asian waters, such as disputes over the South China Sea, a major regional concern, Mr Modi said a stronger US-India partnership could boost peace and prosperity. “It’s brilliance & scope reminded me of Swami Vivekanand’s Chicago address a century ago”, he added.
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BJD MP Baijyant Panda, who is also the chairman of India-US Forum of Parliamentarians (IUPF), has said the feedback he got after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress suggested that it was a “high point” in the relationship between both the nations. He added that both the countries had overcome the hesitations of history.
Looking forward to Prime Minister Modi’s address to the joint meeting of the US Congress on June 8, McCain referred to the leadership of the Prime Minister in improving bilateral relationship.
These ranged from climate change to the vexed civil nuclear deal to USA recognition of India as a major defence partner to a call on Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai and 2016 Pathankot terrorist attacks to justice.
“Ties of commerce and investment are flourishing – we trade more with the USA than with any other nation, and the flow of goods, services, and capital between us generates jobs in both of our societies”, he said, adding defense purchases have moved from almost zero to $10 billion in less than 10 years. “This temple of democracy has encouraged and empowered other democracies the world over”, he said.
When Modi evoked U.S. -India cooperation on climate change, Democrats rose in applause, but most Republicans stayed seated.
“As the oldest and largest democracies, the USA and India have a special relationship”.
He said India could be an ideal partner for USA businesses searching “for new areas of economic growth, markets for their goods, a pool of skilled resources, and global locations to produce and manufacture”. Modi, a keen advocate of yoga, also referenced cultural ties, citing estimates that “more Americans bend for yoga than to throw a curve ball”.
Congressman Ami Bera, the only Indian-American lawmaker in the US House of Representatives said he was proud of the Prime Minister. “Thoreau’s idea of civil disobedience influenced our political thoughts”, said Modi. “Comfort, candor and convergence define our conversations”.
Part of the so-called “bromance” between the two leaders stems from the amount of time they’ve spent with each other during Modi’s short tenure. Without naming Pakistan, he said that terrorism was a global challenge and that it was “incubated in the neighbourhood”.
Terrorism remains the biggest threat. “Religious minority communities – including Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and Sikhs – have endured ongoing violence and harassment for decades in India, and continue to live in a climate where known perpetrators commit violence with impunity”, the Members of Congress wrote in a letter to the Speaker on Tuesday.
Obama also hailed an agreement for U.S. firm Westinghouse to build six nuclear reactors in India.
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Modi will be the fifth Indian leader to make a speech to Congress since 1985.
