"This will be the first dinner for a foreign dignitary at the White House under this administration. So, we think that's very significant," a senior administration official told reporters at the White House on the eve of Modi's arrival.
As Xi is due to arrive in Goa on Saturday to take part in the BRICS Summit, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the relations between India and China made "great headway" despite some "disputes" but there was no change in in Beijing's stand on the issues of NSG and Azhar.
'Any 'de-escalation' that brings down tensions will deprive the BJP of a plank with seamless possibilities to project PM Modi as the 'Iron prime minister' and hype up jingoism in the upcoming election campaign,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Till today, we don't know what PM Modi discussed with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, but we have been told that the relations have been reset.' 'We have no evidence from China to show that anything has changed, even though India had made several gestures in preparation for Wuhan,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'The ceremony on May 30 is all about Modi and there is the great risk that Imran Khan who is a rockstar among Indians might end up stealing the show,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Tillerson said China's behaviour and action is "posing a challenge to the rules-based international order".
India's commitment to an open and plural security architecture attests to the fact that Asia's transition is a dynamic of both power & identity, says Zorawar Daulet Singh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said his government has carried out major reforms -- including labour reforms and reforms in insurance and defence sectors -- 'in less than 100 days' and stopped reversals Indian economy had been facing.
China also said that it was opposed to any third-party involvement in the resolution of the Sino-India boundary disputes.
The United States is looking forward to a "very substantive and consequential" visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington later next month and is working on a "pretty ambitious roadmap" for his bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama, a top American official said.
The two countries also asked all nations to stop cross-border movement of terrorists and asserted that a decisive collective response from the international community without 'double standards and selectivity' was required to combat the threat of terrorism.
'I believe one of the most critical issues is the common threat we face from Islamist radicals and the continuing and unimpaired financing of Al Qaeda, the 'D' Company, the Haqqani network, the LeT and the Jaish-e-Muhammed.'
The joint statement issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama's first-ever summit is high on intent and ambition. Notably missing from the statement is India's refusal to be America's partner in its war against ISIS.
The cascade of cordiality on both sides after the Modi-Sharif handshake in Paris was preceded by much planning and even goading from UK, US and Germany.
'Islamabad is only as big as a Delhi suburb.' 'How can a city with just two five star hotels and only one departure gate at their international airport be compared to Delhi with its sprawling airport?' Ambassador T P Sreenivasan finds the pulse of Pakistan after visiting Islamabad for the first time.
As disputed South China Sea witnesses increased Chinese influence, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Monday pitched for India's "active support" to peacefully resolve all disputes and sought its greater linkages across the region.
'The Pakistani move to ban militant outfits and placate international opinion and Islamabad's openness to a UN security council resolution on Azhar -- instead of beseeching China to cast yet another veto -- enables Islamabad to occupy the high ground,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale summoned Pakistan High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood to his South Block office and issued a very strong demarche .
It was clear in Brunei at the 8th East Asia Summit that China doesn't want the South China Sea issue to even dominate the discussion, reports Sheela Bhatt, who is part of the prime minister's media contingent to the summit
By hosting the 10 ASEAN leaders on Republic Day, India amply demonstrated that ASEAN is a central pillar of its Act East policy. But is India 'central' for ASEAN, asks Dr Rahul Mishra.
'The truly amazing part is the influence that Washington wields over Modi and the Sangh Parivar,' says M K Bhadrakumar. 'What explains it? The Americans know precisely well which raw nerve to touch and how to make the Sangh Parivar, Modi and this government perform the trapeze act.'
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, while reacting to Japan's plans to step up investments in the northeastern states, told the media that China is opposed to any foreign investment in the areas where it has disputes with India.
'There is nothing that Pakistan has done which deserves a resumption of dialogue. The assurances made in Ufa contain no commitment except a whole range of talks, which could take place without the paraphernalia associated with a joint statement of prime ministers.'
'Pakistan's trump card is that it is the only credible guarantor on the horizon who can reasonably assure the Western world that Afghanistan will not again become the revolving door for international terrorism.' 'Trust Pakistan to play this card optimally,' explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'India does not wish to remain silent in improving its strategic space so that its leverage to counter China's expansionist designs is maintained, besides enabling it to play a responsible role from a position of strength for peace and stability in Asia,' points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
'We have seen in India that radical ideology has by and large not been successful in taking root.'
Pakistan has claimed that its credentials for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group are "stronger than India" if the elite club agrees on uniform criteria for non-Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty states to join the group.
'We should not minimise the seriousness of Chinese encroachments because their perception is different.' 'Nor should we fall into the trap of accepting so-called 'buffer zones' in areas of overlapping claims. We cannot have buffer zones in our own territory,' asserts Ambassador Shyam Saran, a former foreign secretary.
Since the 1984 national elections, no party has won a clear majority in the lower house of Parliament, a US intelligence report has observed. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
10 takeaways from the prime minister's UN speech.
Pakistan's last military parade was held on March 23, 2008.
United States Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will visit New Delhi next week during which he will hold talks with his counterpart Arun Jaitley and other top officials, aimed at "nurturing" ties with India after the formation of the new government, a top Pentagon official has said.
Modi is expected to travel to the US late September.
Asked if the relationship has achieved its full potential, the President replied, "Absolutely not."
Trade between India and Indonesia stands at $20 billion.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's landslide victory in state polls has "implications" for the Sino-India ties as it could further embolden Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "hard-line attitude" and pose difficulties for "compromises" in rows with countries like China, official Chinese media commented on Thursday.
Being a pragmatist Modi is not likely to give preference to China over Japan. Both security and economic aspects are likely to shape Modi's decision in terms of engaging the two biggest economies of Asia, says Sana Hashmi.
In 2013, India was Singapore's 11th largest trading partner and 12th largest export destination, with total trade volume of 25.5 billion Singaporean dollars ($ 20.36 billion).
The India-Japan joint naval exercises are a strategic signal for China, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
Text of PM Narendra Modi's press statement after delegation level talks with US President Obama at the Hyderabad House in Delhi.
