Indian Ambassador to the United States Dr S Jaishankar told Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa that it was "a very nice meeting and President Barack Obama was extremely cordial."
Led by Ajay Shriram, chairman and senior managing director, DCM Shriram, the CEO's delegation seeks to convey to their American counterparts the sense of optimism amongst Indian industry.
'India appears to have stood its ground on strategic autonomy by resisting US pressure on Russia, China and Iran, but succumbed to the temptation to walk into a tighter embrace in defence cooperation, a high priority of the Trump administration,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'A lot of people,' says India's Ambassador to the US, 'are struggling how to define this relationship.' Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com reports from Washington, DC.
It is said that the annual State of the Union address to both Houses of the US Congress by Trump is likely to be around the time India will celebrate its Republic Day.
'It is nobody's contention that uncomfortable questions regarding national security should not be raised. But that is a topic for another day and another time when the immediate threat has faded,' argues Vivek Gumaste.
India is expected to strongly push for a bilateral totalisation agreement with the US during President Barack Obama's visit later this month.
'India will want a lot of help from the US, but it's not going to want US troops.'
'If we could break through this symbolic barrier of sanctions and a dysfunctional relationship, we could do anything.'
Since 2016, when India was officially recognised in US law as a 'major defence partner', Washington has purposefully upgraded the defence relationship.
The main elements of the programme are bilateral meetings with the US leadership, participation in the Quad Leaders' Summit, address at the UN General Assembly and business interactions.
Inside the governors' reception hosted by Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna -- a first in more than 15 years.
Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in New Delhi onto participate in the fourth round of Indo-US strategic dialogue even as US announced to invest $100 million in India's burgeoning clean energy sector.
The report said that Indian officials believe China is trying to contain India by forcing it to divert more resources into defending simultaneously both its western border with Pakistan and eastern flank with China and by weakening its willingness and ability to challenge Chinese ambitions to dominate the region.
India and the US also made a strong push for the intra-Afghan peace process to end violence in Afghanistan and ensure that it does not become home to terrorism, and vowed to deepen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and on COVID-19 response and economic recovery.
Two top United States lawmakers have introduced a legislation in the House of Representatives to designate India as a special global partner of America
'The United States should not, by this logic, expect India to create military distractions along the Line of Actual Control, hold up Chinese shipping in the Indian Ocean, or even openly provide intelligence or basing for US forces transiting the region.'
Singapore-based Alert Disaster Control, one of the largest disaster management companies in the oil and gas sector, has already joined the team of experts from ONGC and OIL, reports Shine Jacob.
During his four-day-long stay in India, Biden will hold meetings with top Indian leadership, including President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The United States is moving forward to develop a long-term strategic military partnership with India, a top American military commander said, noting that in the long run, India's role in security in a peaceful Indian Ocean is critical.
Reflecting the strong bipartisan support to the India-US relationship, the lawmakers welcomed the decision of the House Speaker Paul Ryan to invite Modi to address the joint meeting.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to a joint meeting of the United States Congress will be an opportunity to energise efforts to improve bilateral ties, top American lawmakers from across the political divide have said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday made a strong push for reforming multilateral institutions, including the United Nations, and spoke glowingly of India's ties with the United States, saying the two countries stand at a new dawn in their relationship that will not only shape their destiny but also that of the world.
Secretary of State John Kerry plans to call his Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid soon as the ties between two sides are too important to be derailed by an "isolated incident" of the arrest of a diplomat, the US State Department has said.
Here's the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to a joint session of the United States Congress, delivered on Thursday.
'President-elect Biden, in particular, has deep knowledge of, and experience with, dealing with India, serving as a custodian and champion of the relationship long before it was fashionable to do so.'
United States President-elect Joseph Biden has always been a strong supporter of India and India-US partnership since his days in Senate and later as a Vice-President.
In an address on advancing India-US relations, she said neither of the two nations can afford to turn a blind eye to the regimes that produce, harbour, and support terrorists, and in this context, the US is approaching its "relationship with Pakistan differently than in the past".
'Tehran,' Foreign Minister Zarif said, 'had expected the Modi government to be "more resilient" in the face of Washington's bullying,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The government has conveyed its "deep concern" to the US administration over attacks on Indians there, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday, asserting that the safety of Indian diaspora was a top priority.
Many of the stories, the pictures going out of India worldwide lately with these provocative processions, taunting of Muslims, bulldozers targeting mostly their properties, the sweeping 'othering' of a community of 200 million are painting the front pages and TV screens in the democratic world. That is where most of the friends we covet lie. Soon enough, these will also make our vital friends among the Muslim nations, from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, uneasy. The best time for course correction is now, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The US said that it supports dialogue between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.
The last meeting of the 2+2 was held in New Delhi and the next meeting is to be hosted by the US in Washington, DC.
US Ambassador to India Richard Verma and Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Biswal were among the top officials present at the base to receive Modi.
Moving ahead with their new mantra -- Chalein Saath Saath: Forward Together We Go -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday vowed to deepen cooperation in every sector for the benefit of global stability and people's livelihoods over the next ten years.
On her last day as India's envoy to the United States, Ambassador Nirupama Rao was felicitated by the Barck Obama administration at the State Department on Monday, with US Secretary of State John F Kerry thanking her for her service toward furthering the strategic partnership between the two nations.
Tillerson said China's behaviour and action is "posing a challenge to the rules-based international order".
Modi will have a number of high-profile multilateral and bilateral meetings with global leaders including United States Vice President Mike Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong.
New Delhi had proposed during the 2+2 dialogue in April that the US navy could avail of the services and expertise of Indian shipyards.
'This is a historic juncture when the US is in great need of an alliance with India to strengthen its hands in the fierce struggle with China in the Asian theatre,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
