New York, Sep 24 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said President Donald Trump is his friend and also a close friend of India, and said the fact that he took out time to share the stage with him for the 'Howdy, Modi!' event in Houston is a matter of great pride for Indian Americans.
Addressing newspersons ahead of a bilateral meeting with Trump here, Modi said he was very grateful to Trump for attending the Houston event. "He gave a lot of his time, and for the Indian Americans it is a matter of great pride."
He said that though he has been in office for less than four months, after his re-election, he has had the occasion to meet Trump thrice and discuss maters on several issues.
Modi said the closeness and continuous engagement between the US, the oldest democracy, and India, the biggest democracy, conveys an important message for democracy in the world.
"India and America are very close friends, and it is based on shared values," said Modi, adding that he was happy at the $2.5 billion deal inked between Petronet and Tellurian in Houston on Saturday.
He said the deal would lead to a $60 billion trade and 50,000 jobs, "which is a big initiative".
"President Trump is my friend, and a close friend of India. Today India and America are forging ahead," said Modi.
Modi can take care of Pak-sponsored terror: Trump
New York, Sep 25 (IANS) Backing India's position on Pakistan-sponsored terror, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would "take care" of the issue and that Modi had given the message on terrorism to Islamabad "loud and clear" from the 'Howdy, Modi!' stage, which was shared by the US President on Sunday.
Taking questions from mediapersons ahead of their bilateral talks, Trump, when asked what message he had for Pakistan on being actively involved in training militants, said: "Well, I mean, the message is not for me to give, it's for Prime Minister Modi to give.
"And I think he gave that loud and clear on the other day when we were together (in Houston for 'Howdy, Modi!'). He gave a pretty loud message. And I'm sure he'll be able to handle the situation."
Trump was answering a query related to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan telling a thinktank that the Pakistan Army and the ISI had trained the al Qaeda, and reports that thousands of terrorists were reportedly ready to enter India.
On the US saying it stood with India in the fight against Islamic radical terrorism, and what he thought about Imran Khan admitting that the ISI had trained the al Qaeda, Trump said that he hadn't heard of that.
But he added: "And I know this: Your Prime Minister will take care of it. So if there's a problem, he'll take care of it."
Trump went on to say that it would be great if both India and Pakistan can work out something on Kashmir. "We all want to see that. I'm sure we all want to see it."
Asked about his talks with Imran Khan on Monday, Trump said that it was a "very good meeting".
"It was a long meeting and we discussed a lot. And I think he'd like to see something happen that would be very fruitful, very peaceful. And I think that will happen, ultimately.
"I really believe that these two great gentlemen (Modi and Imran Khan) will get together and work out something.
"You know, you mentioned Pakistan, but Iran would have to be at the top of the list. Because if you look at terrorist states, that's been the number one for a long time.
"But I really believe that Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Khan, they get along -- they will get along when they get to know each other. And I think a lot of good things will come from that meeting," Trump said.
On ties with India and Modi, Trump said: "The relationship has never been better, I say, than it is right now, between the Prime Minister, myself, India, and the United States."
'Memories from Houston': Modi gifts photo to Trump
New York, Sep 25 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday gifted US President Donald Trump a large, framed photograph of the 'Howdy, Modi!' event in Houston, which shows the two leaders holding hands and waving to a packed audience of over 50,000 at the NRG stadium.
"Memories from Houston, where history was made! PM @narendramodi presented a framed photograph from the #HowdyModi event to @POTUS @realDonaldTrump.
"President Trump thanked PM Modi for this gesture," the PMO tweeted with a picture of the photograph.
The photo was gifted to Trump after their bilateral meeting here.
The two leaders had shared the stage for the 'Howdy, Modi!' event before a 50,000-strong cheering Indian American audience.
Earlier, Modi thanked Trump for attending the event, saying he was very grateful for the gesture. "He gave a lot of his time, and for the Indian Americans it is a matter of great pride."
India, US very close to trade deal: Trump
New York, Sep 25 (IANS) India and the US are very close to concluding a trade deal, and a larger deal is set to be finalised in some time, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, as teams from both sides were engaged in negotiating a limited trade package.
Answering queries from reporters ahead of a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump, asked if a trade deal was in the offing, said: "Well, I think very soon.
"We're doing very well. And Bob Lighthizer (United States Trade Representative) who's right here, was negotiating with India and their very capable representatives. And I think very soon we'll have a trade deal.
"We'll have the larger deal down the road a little bit, but we will have a trade deal very soon," he said.
His statement comes as India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal was in New York City to hold talks with Lighthizer and team on Tuesday.
Earlier, Trump said that he and Modi "have many things to discuss. One of them, and perhaps in our case, one of the biggest ones is trade. We do a lot of trade together and we're working on that."
PM Modi, in his remarks, said that "As far as trade is concerned, I'm very happy that the day before yesterday, in Houston, in my presence there was an agreement signed by the Indian company, Petronet, for an amount of $2.5 billion, which is the amount of investment that the Indian company is going to do in the energy sector.
"And this will mean that in the years to come, in the decades to come, this will result in trade of an amount of $60 billion and create 50,000 jobs, which I think is a very big initiative taken by India."
Trump's presence at the Howdy Modi event in Houston, the hub of the US' oil and gas sector, on Sunday was significant. On Saturday, India's Petronet inked a deal with US liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer Tellurian Inc for up to five million tonnes of LNG through equity investment in Driftwood Holdings, a subsidiary located in Louisiana.
The agreement was inked on the sidelines of a meeting between Prime Minister Modi with oil sector CEOs in Houston. According to the MoU, Petronet will make an investment to purchase an interest in Driftwood Holdings that will give Petronet the right to purchase up to 5 million tonnes per annum of LNG from Phase I or Phase II of the project.
To a question on ironing out the trade issues, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Monday night: "When President Trump and PM Modi met last they had a broad understanding that the issues on trade must be resolved quickly, and those discussions are ongoing."
Trump has complained of high tariffs imposed by India on US products, including a 50 per cent tariff on Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
In 2018-19, India's exports to the US stood at $52.4 billion, while imports were $35.5 billion. The trade deficit has dropped from $21.3 billion in 2017-18 to $16.9 billion in 2018-19.
Addressing the Howdy Modi on Sunday, Trump had said that both sides are working to make their nations "even more prosperous than ever before".
"The economic miracles are taking place. Indian companies are supplying tens of thousands of jobs across a range of industries. In 2018 JSW Steel announced it would invest $500 million to revitalize a shuttered steel plant."
"We welcome India's role in investment in our lone star state," he said, referring to Texas.
Referring to Indian investment in the US, he said: "India has never invested in the US like it is doing today. And I want to say it's reciprocal, because we are doing the same thing in India."
Trump said the US is working to expand American exports to India, one of the fastest growing markets.
"We are committed to ensuring that Indian people have access to the finest goods in the world, products stamped with Made in USA."
On oil and gas exports to India, he said that crude exports have grown by 400 percent and LNG continues to "soar at record numbers".