WASHINGTON, D.C. - Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama hit it off as the two exchanged parallels in their lives at a White House dinner in his honor. Obama greeted Modi with a “Kem chho, Mr Prime Minister” at the South gate of the White House as his guest of honor, who was a persona non grata in the US till the other day and, arrived dressed in a striped white kurta and churidars and a dark blue Nehru jacket.
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“Thank you very much, Mr. President,” said Modi in English in response to Obama’s greeting in his native Gujarati. Obama then escorted Modi to the Blue room for a working dinner that lasted 90 minutes.
Fasting
Modi fasting for the Hindu festival of Navratri sipped only warm water as the two delegations sat down to eat after the Prime Minister asked them not to feel embarrassed over his not eating.
“There was great, very successful interaction between the President and the Prime Minister as they got to know each other,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told reporters after the dinner.
Outsiders
Obama recalled commonalities in their life experiences. Both were relative outsiders. Both had great interest in technology and faced similar difficulties when they came to office. Modi spoke of the poor technological infrastructure.
Attendees
Joining them at the dinner were Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, USAID administrator Rajiv Shah, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal. On the Indian side were External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Indian ambassador to the US S. Jaishankar and a few other officials dealing with the US.
Joint Op-ed
After agreeing over dinner, in a joint op-ed piece published on the website of Washington Post, Modi and Obama said the true potential of the bilateral relationship was yet to be fully realized.
“The advent of a new government in India is a natural opportunity to broaden and deepen our relationship. With a reinvigorated level of ambition and greater confidence, we can go beyond modest and conventional goals. It is time to set a new agenda, one that realizes concrete benefits for our citizens,” the jointly written article said.
Fasting
Modi fasting for the Hindu festival of Navratri sipped only warm water as the two delegations sat down to eat after the Prime Minister asked them not to feel embarrassed over his not eating.
“There was great, very successful interaction between the President and the Prime Minister as they got to know each other,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told reporters after the dinner.
Outsiders
Obama recalled commonalities in their life experiences. Both were relative outsiders. Both had great interest in technology and faced similar difficulties when they came to office. Modi spoke of the poor technological infrastructure.
Attendees
Joining them at the dinner were Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, USAID administrator Rajiv Shah, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal. On the Indian side were External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Indian ambassador to the US S. Jaishankar and a few other officials dealing with the US.
Joint Op-ed
After agreeing over dinner, in a joint op-ed piece published on the website of Washington Post, Modi and Obama said the true potential of the bilateral relationship was yet to be fully realized.
“The advent of a new government in India is a natural opportunity to broaden and deepen our relationship. With a reinvigorated level of ambition and greater confidence, we can go beyond modest and conventional goals. It is time to set a new agenda, one that realizes concrete benefits for our citizens,” the jointly written article said.
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