Prime Minister Narendra Modi has returned home after successfully concluding his two-nation visit to United States and France. Mr Modi arrived at the Palam Airport in New Delhi last night.
Prime Minister Modi visited the United States at the invitation of President Donald Trump. This was the Prime Minister’s first visit to the US after the inauguration of President Trump for a second term. During a substantive and productive visit to the US, Prime Minister Modi held bilateral discussions with President Trump in Washington.
The bilateral discussions at the White House began late on Thursday night and went on for nearly four hours. These comprised discussions in a restricted format, and an extended discussion over dinner with larger delegations. The discussions covered the entire gamut of the relationship, ranging from strategic and security cooperation, defense, trade and economic engagement, technology, energy security, and people-to-people linkages, as well as regional and global issues of concern.
The two leaders jointly launched the US-India COMPACT for the 21st century. This COMPACT stands for Catalyzing Opportunities in Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce, and Technology. In the area of trade and investment, the leaders launched Mission 500, aiming to more than double the total two-way trade to 500 billion dollars by 2030.
Prime Minister Modi and President Trump also announced plans to negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial multi-sector bilateral trade agreement by the fall of 2025 toward advancing this process. Defense remains a very important area of cooperation in the strategic partnership between the two countries.
The leaders announced plans to finalize a new 10-year framework for the US-India major defense partnership in the 21st century. This is a framework that will run from 2025 to 2035 and is expected to be finalized later this year. They also agreed to move forward on ongoing defense procurement negotiations for a number of platforms, including land and air systems, as well as co-production agreements.
During the first leg of his two-nation tour, Mr. Modi visited France from 10th to 12th of this month. During the visit, Mr Modi co-chaired the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris, along with French President Emmanuel Macron. They also jointly inaugurated the newest Consulate General of India in Marseille.
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