Modi will arrive in New York on June 20 and will lead the 9th International Yoga Day celebrations at the UN headquarters on June 21.
Indian mangoes are all set to be shipped to the American market in the next few days after the United States decided to allow import of the delicious fruit.
On the back of rising crude oil purchases, India's bill for imports from sanctions-hit Russia jumped 3.5 times in a year in April to $2.3 billion, showed data from the commerce ministry. In April, India's crude oil imports from Russia were valued at $1.3 billion, 57 per cent of India's total inbound shipments from Russia. Other major imported items during the month included coal, soybean and sunflower oil, fertilisers, and non-industrial diamonds. That month, Russia was also the fourth-largest crude petroleum supplier to India, after Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Hailing the agreement reached between India and the US aimed at resolving the stalemate over the WTO trade facilitation pact, Australia on Friday said the gains from the deal once it is sealed are "significant" and the developing nations would be its Hailing the agreement reached between India and the US aimed at resolving the stalemate over the WTO trade facilitation pact, Australia on Friday said the gains from the deal once it is sealed are "significant" and the developing nations would be its biggest beneficiaries.biggest beneficiaries.
Here is the full text of the joint statement issued by India and the US.
Stepping up defence cooperation, India and the US are poised to unveil a roadmap for industries in the sector to partner closely in co-production, co-development and maintaining supply change during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US beginning June 21.
Political, security and economic transition in Afghanistan besides specific cooperation projects were in focus during today's trilateral meeting of India, United States and Afghanistan which discussed various aspects of the situation in the war-torn country.
'While high-level interventions may help smoothen inter-State relationships, they cannot fundamentally change the alchemy of such relationships, which are firmly rooted in mutual benefits and mutual interests,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Some of the learning may be implemented in the Budget'
'What is the ISI doing and why can't they understand for their own interest that bringing stability to the region will help all the countries become prosperous, whereas a continuation of incitement will only lead to misery for all.'
The talks between Singh and Esper came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with US President Donald Trump.
With Lok Sabha elections months away, the visits are vital politically as these would showcase Modi's standing as a world leader to the home electorate.
The constitution of both countries begins with the "three words -- We the People -- as President Biden just mentioned", said Modi, who is on his first state visit to the US.
'I certainly think India can play a leading role in helping us resolve the Russia-Ukraine crisis. India obviously has an old relationship with Russia'
India believes in sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayaas and walks ahead with it, Modi said.
'When you think back to the promises made 10 years ago, not a single one of those had panned out to date.'
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the upcoming visit will affirm the deep and close partnership between the United States and India.
US India Business Council has urged New Delhi and America to take steps to strengthen bilateral trade relationship to realise their 'true business potential'.
Swaraj expressed satisfaction over the agenda of the inaugural dialogue while giving the details of the deliberations.
The leaders said trade ties were still fragile
"The US-India economic partnership is the strongest it has ever been and trade has played a vital role in that development," United States Trade Representative Susan C Schwab said at a meeting.
India and the US are working with renewed trust in areas of new and emerging technologies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday as he thanked the American leadership for giving him a grand welcome.
The proposals will be reviewed by the World Trade Organization's General Council.
'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.
'As far as acquisition of Russian equipment is concerned, with about 70% of Indian military equipment being of Russian origin, a sudden decision to abandon imports from Russia is not feasible,' points out Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will hold crucial talks with the top US leadership, including his counterpart Jake Sullivan, on the first high-level dialogue on Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET).
India has stated that the move would impact Indian IT professionals.
Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Vedanta, Coal India, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid, HCL Tech and Bajaj Finance, rising up to 2.65 per cent.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma will meet new US Trade Representative Ron Kirk at Bali in Indonesia on June 6-7, on the sidelines of the meeting of the Cairns Group of farm product-exporting countries. The two countries have serious differences on the level of protection that can be given to farmers as and when the global market for farm products is opened up. India has argued all along that it cannot compromise on food security and livelihood concerns.
The challenge for India will be to ensure the law does not get out of step with the demands of a country that needs foreign investment and new technologies.
Issues related with intellectual property rights, including piracy of films and software, figured prominently during the India-US CEO Forum in New Delhi attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama.
'This is the first time the US has formally recognised the threat India faces from terrorist organisations based in Pakistan.'
Biden praised India's Covid vaccination efforts.
Joe Biden will embark on his maiden visit to India as United States Vice President on July 22 to discuss key bilateral issues, including trade, energy and defence, to make Indo-US ties the most important strategic partnership of the 21st century.
The agreement formalises the US Trade and Development Agency's programme with Indian public sector undertakings and cover activities like project preparation, trade capacity building, investment analysis and sectoral development.
'Washington appears to be playing the long game, and making the argument to India that over the longer term, Russia -- sanctioned, cash-strapped, isolated by the West -- will no longer be a viable defence partner for India'
The US remained "watchful" over developments along India's frontier with China as it cannot take its eyes off the regional security issues, a senior American official said on Wednesday against the backdrop of the over 29-month border standoff in eastern Ladakh that has significantly frayed ties between the two neighbours.
In the meeting with the Governor, the US Ambassador to India discussed a range of issues including investment in various fields.
US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter will sign a fresh 10-year defence framework agreement with India on Wednesday
'Just how strong were the ties between the world's largest and oldest democracies that an incident involving a diplomat and a maid led to anger threatening the relationship itself? Or had the relationship been weakening in the past few years, masked by the empty symbolism of State dinners, asks Devesh Kapur.
