Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up yet another hugely successful visit to the USA with a warm hug for President Barack Obama, a courtship with Silicon valley and a love fest with the Indian diaspora.
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Apart from Obama, Modi also met his British counterpart David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande and leaders of Palestine and Mexico, among others.
Setting the tone for the delegation-level meeting, Obama warmly received Modi by hugging him. “We hope your visit will energise people in the Valley, excite Indians all across the country, and renew and strengthen our partnership”, he said.
We agreed that this is a critical issue for the world; that all of us have responsibilities.
“Our defence co-operation is expanding”. Many new faces that I can see.
Modi’s speech included nods to numerous US tech companies he said have helped reshape, including Facebook Inc, its units Instagram and WhatsApp, Twitter Inc.
The Prime Minister announced that that Air India would be launching a direct flight to San Francisco from December 2, a long-pending demand of Indian IT professionals in the Silicon Valley. He highlighted India’s goals for fighting climate change and said change was necessary in the UNSC to keep it relevant, taking a stand for the expansion of membership in the council. “I also saw the driving force of our relationship – youth, technology and innovation; and, the natural partnerships of Indian and Americans in advancing human progress”. I am just giving them an address (India).
“We will also continue to work towards a stronger bilateral framework of economic cooperation, including the Bilateral Investment Treaty and Totalisation Agreement”, he said.
Vikas Swarup, Spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs, said, “For India the main take away was the technology behind long-term storage battery, which can have multiple applications”.
Social media giant Facebook has initiated a project that would provide Wi-Fi hotspots to those living in India’s rural parts.
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He said India and the United States have found those principles that the governments are there to serve their people and to every one. They noted the recently concluded Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, and discussions on Energy and Cyber-Security. Facebook has also been offering free basic Internet services in India.
