Modi, Obama to meet in US in Sept





Bilateral Summit Will Take Place In Washington

In a hugely significant foreign policy decision, PM Narendra Modi has confirmed to US President Barack Obama that he will have a bilateral meeting with him in Washington DC in the last week of September. Obama had invited Modi to the US when he called to congratulate him the day after the election results were announced. Significantly , the meeting won't happen on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York but in the form of a full-fledged summit in the US capital. The two sides are finalizing the date for the meeting, TOI has learnt. The Modi-Obama summit promises to be one of the marquee global events of the year and will overshadow Modi's presence at the UNGA, if he decides to go to New York too.

In taking the decision, Modi has shown that his own predilections, if any , will not come in the way of India's ties with the US. He has, in fact, acted with alacrity and decisiveness on what ma ny believe will be one of the biggest immediate challenges for India's foreign policy--that of mending Indo-US ties, which was on a downslide under UPAII and nosedived with l'affaire Khobragade. Modi's decision underlines the criticality of the US in India's strategic matrix. There was speculation that Modi might focus more on China and South Korea for economic gains, and on an improved security partnership with Japan, but these are not likely to come at the expense of Washington.

Modi was thought to be inadequately equipped to mend Indo-US ties because--as some reckoned--he would find it difficult to come to terms with the US's hostility after the 2002 riots. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is set to meet US President Barack Obama in September, had remained the only person to be barred from travelling to the US for many years under the country's controversial International Religious Freedom Act.

While the UK and the EU were quick off the blocks in reaching out to Modi, the US was late in responding. But once it did in the form of a meeting the previous US ambassador Nancy Powell sought with him, Modi has been generous in his response. In an interview to TOI before he took over as PM, Modi had said that relations between the two countries cannot be allowed to be "even remotely" influenced by incidents related to individuals.

Describing the US as a natural ally , he had said it was in the interest of both countries to further develop the relationship. Modi's decision to confirm the Obama bilateral is also the second big surprise he has sprung on his detractors who thought he would be straight-jacketed by his own election campaign, and the baggage he was supposed to have come with on relations with the US. Despite his admonition of the UPA for its `biryani' diplomacy--biting reference to its supposed softness towards Islamabad--Modi successfully invited Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif for his swearing-in.