He addressed the US India Business Council programme alongside Jeff Bezos of Amazon, John Chambers of Cisco.
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He said in Washington that the takeaway was deepening and broadening of the relationship in so many ways. Though his speech to the United States lawmakers combined poetry, humour and rhetoric to outline India’s vision for a strategic partnership with the USA in the 21st century, yet he conveyed the point that despite having differences in many crucial areas, autonomy in decision-making and diversity in the perspective can only add value to the bilateral ties. Without mentioning Pakistan, he said terrorism was being “incubated in India’s neighbourhood” and pressed for action against groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Taliban and ISIS. “India lives as one, India grows as one, India celebrates as one”, he said. If Modi hopes to bring a change in China’s position, that will be only possible by working with Chinese leadership, not by being part of a military alliance against it. India getting a permanent seat in the UN Security Council looks like a distant dream. “So it is a friend that we have, and we must maintain that friendship”, he said. While the bonhomie between Modi and President Obama is good for now, the question of whether the momentum in relations will be sustained really depends on the next president of the US.
Both sides also reaffirmed the importance to have an “effective multilateral system”, with the United Nations at its core, and agreed on the importance of continuing to support the progress in the process of comprehensive reforms of the UN Security Council. Threats of terror are expanding, and new challenges are emerging in cyber and outer space.
Modi, who comes not from India’s elite but who rose out of poverty, was swept into office in 2014 on a campaign promising political reforms and economic modernization.
He said a commitment to rebuild a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan was “our shared objective”.
Several countries could raise the red flag against India. Earlier Modi also won support of Switzerland on the issue.
BJP president Amit Shah described Modi’s five-nation tour as “unprecedented strategic and diplomatic success”, saying what the country could not achieve in decades, the BJP-led government achieved in two years.
Cornyn is Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus.
It said they welcomed collaboration in space science, earth observation, climate and environmental studies, and the efficient use of space-related resources available in India as well as in Mexico for remote sensing, advance warning for disaster prevention and launch of satellites between the Mexican Space Agency (AEM) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
At one point the Prime Minister in his inimitable style cracked joke on the politics of the US Congress, especially the tussle between the House of Representatives and the Senate by comparing the situation to back home in Parliament where his government is in a minority in the Upper House Rajya Sabha.
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“Thanks Speaker Ryan for the kind words and opportunity to address Congress. Was great meeting you earlier today”, Modi said on his twitter feed along with a picture with Ryan. Indeed, his recently-concluded visit to the USA marks the beginning of a new era in the ties between the world’s largest democracy and one of its oldest.
