Prime Minister Narendra Modi was yesterday greeted by enthusiastic members of the Indian community in Washington DC.
Modi is in the US capital to attend the fourth Nuclear Security Summit.
The prime minister, who arrived late in the night from Brussels, shook hands and smiled and waved at the Indian community members on way to the White House to attend the security summit where world leaders from over 50 countries are expected to share their assessment of the threat from nuclear weapons and materials.
During his two-day stay in Washington, Modi will interact with a number of world leaders, including host President Barack Obama.
Later in the day he held a bilateral meeting with his New Zealand counterpart John Key.
“Not just cricket on the agenda, as PM @narendra meets New Zealand PM @johnkeypm for 1st meeting in Washington,” external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted in an obvious reference to India’s World T20 cricket semi-final against the West Indies that was going on in Mumbai on the other side of the globe at the same time.
During Modi’s visit to Brussels, India and the European Union agreed to step up the fight against terrorism.
Modi’s meeting with EU President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker - for the first time since 2012 - aimed to boost relations and bring new momentum to stalled trade talks, with ties strained by a diplomatic row between Italy and India.
The leaders touched on the negotiations toward an EU-India Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement, which started in 2007 but have stalled since 2013. Their joint statement merely welcomed efforts to resume the talks, with no indication of when this might happen.
Key sticking points in the trade talks include European demands that India remove tariffs on cars and car parts, wine and spirits. The EU is India’s largest trading partner.