UNITED NATIONS: After a bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama on Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the US leader for supporting India’s bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

Later, a spokesperson for the Indian ministry for external affairs, Vikas Swarup, told the Indian media that Pakistan too was discussed in the Obama-Modi meeting during a wider discussion on terrorism.

Mr Swarup said the two leaders did not discuss the Kashmir issue as “there’s a broad agreement that this is a bilateral issue, between India and Pakistan”.

Mr Modi, who also spoke briefly to the media, said he “thanked President Obama for his support for India’s permanent membership of a reformed UNSC.”

He said he also thanked the US leader for responding to his call for a clean energy source. “We should work together to advance this goal to ensure that affordable also becomes accessible to those who need it the most,” Mr Modi said.

“Our defence cooperation is expanding. We had a successful cyber security dialogue...I’ve had excellent meeting with business leaders in San Jose,” he said.

“We will continue to work our bilateral framework on economic co-operation...My engagement in the US demonstrate the extra-ordinary depth in our relationships”.

The Indian prime minister said the US and India were also part of the dynamic Asia-Pacific region and “amid the problems that one faces today, our partnership is of great significance for us and the world”.

President Obama, who also spoke briefly to the media, said that much of his discussion with the Indian PM focused on the upcoming climate conference in Paris.

“We agree that this is a critical issue for the world, and all of us have responsibilities. We are encouraged by the aggressive nature of Mr Modi’s commitment to clean energy”.

“We also had a chance to talk about trade and investment,” Mr Obama said, adding that Mr. Modi hopes that Indian Americans can contribute to India’s growth too.

Mr Obama complimented Mr Modi for abiding by democratic ideals that he “not only pays lip service to but acts on”.

While Mr Obama spoke without notes, Mr Modi — who’s English, is somewhat stilted — followed with his own remarks that he read from a paper in front of him.

Mr Modi mentioned his goal to build 175 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2022 but to transition to a “development strategy to enable us to transition to a more sustainable energy mix”.

President Obama was assisted by Secretary of State John Kerry, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, UN Ambassador Samantha Power, US Trade Representative Michael Froman and US Ambassador to India Richard Varma.

The Indian team included Prime Minister Modi and Foreign Secretary Jaishankar but Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj did not attend the meeting.—M.H. & A.I.

Published in Dawn September 29th, 2015

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