Obama, Modi summit reflects depth of strong Indo-US ties: White House

Washington, Oct 2: US President Barack Obama was "very pleased" to meet India's new Prime Minister Narendra Modi and values the opportunity to discuss a broad array of topics reflecting the depth of the strong ties between the world's two largest democracies, the White House has said.

"The President was very pleased with the opportunity that he had to visit with Prime Minister Modi. It reflects that depth of the strong relationship between the United States and India that the two leaders were able to come together and discuss a broad array of topics," White House Press Secretary, Josh Earnest, told reporters at a news conference.

Each of those topics represents an area of important cooperation between the two countries, he said adding that Obama "certainly values" the opportunity that he had to visit personally with Modi. "It was the first opportunity that the two men had had to meet in person," he said.

"I know the President enjoyed the visit with Prime Minister Modi to the Martin Luther King Junior Memorial. And I'm confident that as the relationship between our countries progresses, so will those areas of cooperation," Earnest said.

Responding to questions, Earnest said, the series of agreements reached between the two countries are indicative of the wide range of areas where the US and India have a strong, cooperative partnership.

"The President certainly values that aspect of the relationship between our two countries," he said.

"I also think that the Indian people saw some important images. They saw the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of India sitting down, side by side in the Oval Office, discussing shared interests and priorities between our two countries," he said.

"The people of India also saw the President travel with Prime Minister Modi to the Martin Luther King Junior Memorial on the National Mall, and I think that sends a pretty clear signal about the shared values of our two countries and our two democracies. It also demonstrates a shared commitment to the success of our two democracies," Earnest said.

"The President really enjoyed the visit and I think it's indicative of the kind of strong partnership that exists between the two leaders and between our two countries," said the White House Press Secretary.

"My visit has been very successful," Modi had said after concluding his five-day visit on Tuesday. Modi met Obama at the White House and the two leaders later issued a joint statement that promised to take the India-US relationship to a new height.

PTI