New Delhi, 12 November 2014

US President Barack Obama Wednesday smiled and shook hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and called him a “man of action”.

Obama, who was meeting Modi at a gala dinner here just over one and a half months since their bilateral meeting at the White House, told the Indian prime minister: “You are a man of action!”

The handshake between the two and the remarks were tweeted by external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.

Modi and Obama are here to attend the ASEAN and the East Asia Summits.

PM’s bilateral engagements at Nay Pyi Taw – Nov 12, 2014

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had six meetings today at Nay Pyi Taw, in addition to the India-ASEAN Summit. He met the Prime Minister of Malaysia Mr. Najib Razak, the Prime Minister of Thailand Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Prime Minister of Singapore Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, the Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and the President of the Republic of Korea Ms Park Geun-hye. He also met Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Prime Minister used the opportunity, which was his first meeting with these leaders, to explain his views on how he sees India progressing, and to seek their cooperation for the same. The Prime Minister expressed India’s openness to ideas and views. He referred to the possibility of cooperation between India and the ASEAN countries in the field of solar energy. He stressed on the need for India and ASEAN to collaboratively tackle terrorism, drug-trafficking and gun-running. He specifically mentioned the example of security intelligence sharing between India and Malaysia, and said this was a model which could be followed with other ASEAN member countries as well.

The Prime Minister sought cooperation from Malaysia in the field of public housing. The Prime Minister expressed keenness to work closely with Singapore in the field of urban renewal. The Korean side expressed keenness to share its proven industrial competence with India, especially in infrastructure.

The Prime Minister, in his meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, described her as a symbol of democracy, and referred to the enormous effort and sacrifice she has made for democracy. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi described India as her second home. The Prime Minister gifted Daw Aung San Suu Kyi a copy of Mahatma Gandhi’s commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.