Important highlights of MEA briefing on Modi-Obama dinner meet(with pictures)

September 30, 2014

India Narendra Modi Text World

The menu of dinner

Washington DC, 30 September 2014

Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) spokesperson today shared the details of dinner meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and American President Barack Obama:

–This was a dinner meeting. Prime Minister Modi didn’t have anything except warm water. Discussion was largely sort of, a get to know each other approach. Both leaders shared commonalities over conversation which was spread over 90 minutes. Prime Minister Modi laid out his hopes and aspirations for India, his development vision, how he feels US could help with that.

–There will be a joint briefing by Narendra Modi and Barack Obama after more discussion tomorrow. A joint editorial will be written by Obama and Modi in a leading journal.

–Both leaders felt Indo-US relation is most important and incumbent for both to strengthen it.

–Two issues that were broadly flagged by India and US for joint cooperation was the Ebola crisis and Afghanistan.

–Gifts given by Modi to Obama are special edition of Gita by Gandhiji, All India Radio recording of speech by Martin Luther King(MLK) in India, photo of MLK at Rajghat. While these were personal gifts, formal gifts will be exchanged tomorrow.

–Obama greeted Modi with ‘Kem chho Prime Minister’. Modi responded, thank you very much Mr. President.

–Obama,Modi exchanged anecdotes about their 1st few days in office, to see if they had anything in common.

–Both President Obama and PM Modi are great coteries of digital diplomacy. They have been communicating by digital means on the joint editorial.

–Both felt Indo-US relation is most imp and incumbent for both to strengthen it:

–The joint editorial was finalized today evening, after they met: PM Modi & US President Obama have collaborated on joint editorial to be published in US newspaper tomorrow.

–At dinner, PM Modi mentioned that he didn’t want to embarrass anybody and asked everybody to partake food, and the Obama did. Yes, the White House was aware that PM Modi would be fasting, they were prepared for it.