Indian media has substantial coverage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s trip to Washington. In contrast, US media has barely a mention of the trip. This reflects the difference in expectations: India hopes this trip will impact the country&#39;s destiny, whereas America, outside the Indian diaspora, doesn&#39;t really know who Modi is. The fate of America&nbsp;does not depend on&nbsp;its links to India.

In the lead up to their meeting, the Washington Post didn&#39;t carry any articles about Modi, but did have one about the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/06/24/how-can-they-hate-us-so-much-asks-father-of-muslim-teen-brutally-killed-in-attack-on-train-in-india/?utm_term=.31682ec6312f" target="_blank">Muslim </a>16-year-old thrashed to death on a train by a Hindu mob who were under the impression the kid was a &quot;beef-eater, an anti-national, a Pakistani&quot;.&nbsp;Indians here may feel this coverage is typical of the West, which instinctively&nbsp;and eagerly portrays the country in an&nbsp;unmodern&nbsp;light, rather than take up the narrative it is the world&#39;s new up and coming economy in the region.

Except the West is not uniformly under the impression that India is the new place to do business, despite savvy middle class&nbsp;India&#39;s opinion&nbsp;of itself. In the lead up to the meeting, a&nbsp;widely-shared <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21723830-he-more-nationalist-firebrand-indias-prime-minister-not-much-reformer" target="_blank">Economist </a>article called Modi &quot;not much of a reformer&quot; in the headline, and the<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/06/24/technology/24reuters-usa-india-trade.html" target="_blank"> New York Times</a> carried an article saying US congressman are calling on Trump to urge Modi&nbsp;to &quot;remove barriers to US trade and investment&quot;, something which Modi supporters feel has already happened. Indians&nbsp;who have endured&nbsp;the shock of demonetisation, and who have heard about India&#39;s new cashless economy and all the BJP&#39;s economic reforms,&nbsp;may be surprised to learn that&nbsp;the World Bank ranked&nbsp;India 130th out of 190 countries for ease of doing business.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>Trump&#39;s&nbsp;mob links are real and numerous and go back for decades. He&nbsp;has structured his White House administration on the mafia pattern, literally surrounding himself with&nbsp;family members&nbsp;whose only qualification for office&nbsp;is family loyalty.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Trump's?mob links are real and numerous and go back for decades. He?has structured his White House administration on the mafia pattern, literally surrounding himself with?family members?whose only qualification for office?is family loyalty." target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
</div>
</div>

That NYT article was published June 24th, and&nbsp;the website had no mention of the Indian Prime Minister when he landed in Washington.

It&#39;s true that before the&nbsp;meeting the US pledged to supply&nbsp;22 armed predator Guardian drones to the Indian Navy. This is said to boost the Navy&#39;s intelligence gathering, and is a deal worth $2-3 billion. Perhaps this was an offering to India, to help open things up along the terms Big Business wants, or perhaps it&#39;s a run of the mill military exchange between countries. Coherence from this&nbsp;US administration is non-existent;&nbsp;Trump called Qatar a state sponsor of terrorism, then days later the US agreed to supply&nbsp;them with $12 billion worth in jets.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Modi met the head&nbsp;of&nbsp;Wal Mart, who&nbsp;called their meeting &quot;fruitful&quot;. Who knows what this means for relations between the two countries?&nbsp;In the days to come&nbsp;there will be more symbolic statements and photo ops, but&nbsp;what they symbolize is anybody&#39;s guess.&nbsp;

It&#39;s hard to read because President&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;is a&nbsp;sociopathic kleptocrat. He is fundamentally untrustworthy,&nbsp;guided solely by what benefits his private wealth and hold on power. Trump&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="http://www.salon.com/2017/05/16/watch-dutch-documentary-investigates-trumps-links-to-russian-mob/" target="_blank">mob </a>links are real and numerous and go back for decades. He&nbsp;has structured his White House administration on the mafia pattern, literally surrounding himself with&nbsp;family members&nbsp;whose only qualification for office&nbsp;is family loyalty.&nbsp;

Boding well for India is the fact that he has Trump Hotels&nbsp;in Mumbai and&nbsp;Pune. This probably means more than his vocal criticism of India for only participating in the Paris climate accord, where he&nbsp;<a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/dismissing-donald-trumps-snarl-india-vows-to-stay-on-the-green-path/articleshow/58969162.cms" target="_blank">said</a>, &quot;India makes its participation contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from developed countries.&quot;&nbsp;

Before taking any statement from Trump&#39;s mouth seriously, recall the &quot;bizarre and reckless&quot; phone call he had, just after being&nbsp;named the winner of the US election,&nbsp;with&nbsp;Pakistan Prime Minister&nbsp;Nawaz Sharif: &quot;You are a terrific guy. You are doing amazing work which is visible in every&nbsp;way.&quot;&nbsp;Yet Indian media is convinced that Trump is a partner in the fight against Pakistan terror. Maybe he will be. It&#39;s impossible to know. Trump&nbsp;speaks from three sides of his mouth.

Indians who are under the mistaken belief&nbsp;that the US President is a stable&nbsp;adult who operates within democratic or even economic norms&nbsp;may try to read for clues to speculate about India&#39;s&nbsp;future with Washington. Trump is&nbsp;only loyal to his ego, money and power. Everything else will be determined in time.

(WION)

Trump cares about Trump, not India, or for that matter even America. Predicting the future of India-US ties without understanding this is hopeless

Indian media has substantial coverage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to Washington. In contrast, US media has barely a mention of the trip. This reflects the difference in expectations: India hopes this trip will impact the country's destiny, whereas America, outside the Indian diaspora, doesn't really know who Modi is. The fate of America does not depend on its links to India. In the lead up to their meeting, the Washington Post didn't carry any articles about Modi, but did have one about the Muslim 16-year-old thrashed to death on a train by a Hindu mob who were under the impression the kid was a "beef-eater, an anti-national, a Pakistani". Indians here may feel this coverage is typical of the West, which instinctively and eagerly portrays the country in an unmodern light, rather than take up the narrative it is the world's new up and coming economy in the region. Except the West is not uniformly under the impression that India is the new place to do business, despite savvy middle class India's opinion of itself. In the lead up to the meeting, a widely-shared Economist article called Modi "not much of a reformer" in the headline, and the New York Times carried an article saying US congressman are calling on Trump to urge Modi to "remove barriers to US trade and investment", something which Modi supporters feel has already happened. Indians who have endured the shock of demonetisation, and who have heard about India's new cashless economy and all the BJP's economic reforms, may be surprised to learn that the World Bank ranked India 130th out of 190 countries for ease of doing business. Trump's mob links are real and numerous and go back for decades. He has structured his White House administration on the mafia pattern, literally surrounding himself with family members whose only qualification for office is family loyalty. × That NYT article was published June 24th, and the website had no mention of the Indian Prime Minister when he landed in Washington. It's true that before the meeting the US pledged to supply 22 armed predator Guardian drones to the Indian Navy. This is said to boost the Navy's intelligence gathering, and is a deal worth $2-3 billion. Perhaps this was an offering to India, to help open things up along the terms Big Business wants, or perhaps it's a run of the mill military exchange between countries. Coherence from this US administration is non-existent; Trump called Qatar a state sponsor of terrorism, then days later the US agreed to supply them with $12 billion worth in jets. Modi met the head of Wal Mart, who called their meeting "fruitful". Who knows what this means for relations between the two countries? In the days to come there will be more symbolic statements and photo ops, but what they symbolize is anybody's guess. It's hard to read because President Trump is a sociopathic kleptocrat. He is fundamentally untrustworthy, guided solely by what benefits his private wealth and hold on power. Trump's mob links are real and numerous and go back for decades. He has structured his White House administration on the mafia pattern, literally surrounding himself with family members whose only qualification for office is family loyalty. Boding well for India is the fact that he has Trump Hotels in Mumbai and Pune. This probably means more than his vocal criticism of India for only participating in the Paris climate accord, where he said, "India makes its participation contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from developed countries." Before taking any statement from Trump's mouth seriously, recall the "bizarre and reckless" phone call he had, just after being named the winner of the US election, with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif: "You are a terrific guy. You are doing amazing work which is visible in every way." Yet Indian media is convinced that Trump is a partner in the fight against Pakistan terror. Maybe he will be. It's impossible to know. Trump speaks from three sides of his mouth. Indians who are under the mistaken belief that the US President is a stable adult who operates within democratic or even economic norms may try to read for clues to speculate about India's future with Washington. Trump is only loyal to his ego, money and power. Everything else will be determined in time. (WION)

Opinion: Indian PM Modi meets mob-linked president on his home turf

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Portugal on Saturday morning and will reach the United States the next day (June25).

He will meet US President Donald Trump on June 26.&nbsp;

The two leaders will meet on Monday at around 3:30 pm EST (1 am IST) for the first time. The meeting will last for about 5 hours. The two leaders will end their meeting with a White House dinner, the first by the Trump administration for a visiting foreign leader.

Modi will then visit the Netherlands on June 27.

Speaking before his departure, Modi said that the aim of the US visit is to &quot;build a forward looking vision&quot; for the Indo-US bilateral partnership and consolidate the strong relationship between the two countries.

&quot;My USA visit is aimed at deepening ties between our nations. Strong India-USA ties benefit our nations &amp; the world,&quot; he tweeted.

India and the United States came closer during the regime of President Barack Obama owing to a warm relationship shared between the two leaders.

The visit will aim to capitalise on that relationship to further strengthen the ties.

Already on the agenda is the big-ticket defence deal which will see US supplying 22 Predator drones to India. Sources close to the deal have signalled that the entire US administration is positive about the deal.

India is one of United States&#39; biggest defence markets.

On the issue of H-1B visas, the White House said there were no specific plans to raise the issue during Modi&rsquo;s visit as it was under review. 
&nbsp; 
&quot;On the (H-1B) visas issue, there&#39;s no plans for that to come up specifically,&quot; a senior administration official told reporters ahead of Modi-Trump meeting at the White House on Monday.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
&quot;But if it&#39;s raised, I would just note that the administration has signed some executive orders related to work and immigration, and President Trump&#39;s executive order on H1-B visas, of course, directs the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Homeland Security to propose potential reforms to the H1B visa program,&quot; the official said. 
&nbsp; 
The official added that there have been no immediate changes in the existing visa policy. 
&nbsp; 
&quot;However there have been no immediate changes to visa application or issuance procedures, so we&#39;re not in a position to kind of prejudge what the outcome of the review might be. 
So there&#39;s really been no changes as such at this point, and no specific changes that target any specific country or sector as of yet.&rdquo;

Trump and Modi have spoken twice over the phone after the former assumed office in January 2017. This will be their first personal meeting.

The Indian Prime Minister will also meet prominent American CEOs and interact with the Indian diaspora in US.

White House dinner

US President Donald Trump would host him for a dinner at the White House on Monday.

&quot;The White House is very interested in making this a special visit. We&#39;re really seeking to roll out the red carpet. In fact, the two (leaders) will have dinner, a working dinner at the White House. This will be the first dinner for a foreign dignitary at the White House under this administration. So, we think that&#39;s very significant,&quot; a senior administration official told reporters.

Modi will travel to Portugal on Saturday where he will meet the Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa.

&quot;Building on our recent discussions, we will review the progress of various joint initiatives and decisions,&quot; Prime Minister Modi said about his upcoming meeting with Costa.

&quot;We will also discuss ways to further enhance the bilateral engagement, especially in the areas of economic cooperation, science &amp; technology, space collaboration and people to people ties,&quot; the Prime Minister added.

In the last leg of his visit, Modi will visit the Netherlands on June 27 where he will meet the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and call on King Willem- Alexander and meet Queen Maxima.

India and the Netherlands share a strong economic partnership. The Netherlands is India&#39;s 6th largest trading partner in the EU and 5th largest investment partner globally

&quot;The Dutch expertise in areas such as water and waste management, agriculture and food processing, renewable energy and ports and shipping, matches with our development needs,&quot; the prime minister said.

&nbsp;

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reach the US on June 25 and will meet President Donald Trump the next day for five hours

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Portugal on Saturday morning and will reach the United States the next day (June25). He will meet US President Donald Trump on June 26. The two leaders will meet on Monday at around 3:30 pm EST (1 am IST) for the first time. The meeting will last for about 5 hours. The two leaders will end their meeting with a White House dinner, the first by the Trump administration for a visiting foreign leader. Modi will then visit the Netherlands on June 27. Speaking before his departure, Modi said that the aim of the US visit is to "build a forward looking vision" for the Indo-US bilateral partnership and consolidate the strong relationship between the two countries. "My USA visit is aimed at deepening ties between our nations. Strong India-USA ties benefit our nations & the world," he tweeted. India and the United States came closer during the regime of President Barack Obama owing to a warm relationship shared between the two leaders. The visit will aim to capitalise on that relationship to further strengthen the ties. Already on the agenda is the big-ticket defence deal which will see US supplying 22 Predator drones to India. Sources close to the deal have signalled that the entire US administration is positive about the deal. India is one of United States' biggest defence markets. On the issue of H-1B visas, the White House said there were no specific plans to raise the issue during Modi’s visit as it was under review. "On the (H-1B) visas issue, there's no plans for that to come up specifically," a senior administration official told reporters ahead of Modi-Trump meeting at the White House on Monday. "But if it's raised, I would just note that the administration has signed some executive orders related to work and immigration, and President Trump's executive order on H1-B visas, of course, directs the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Homeland Security to propose potential reforms to the H1B visa program," the official said. The official added that there have been no immediate changes in the existing visa policy. "However there have been no immediate changes to visa application or issuance procedures, so we're not in a position to kind of prejudge what the outcome of the review might be. So there's really been no changes as such at this point, and no specific changes that target any specific country or sector as of yet.” Trump and Modi have spoken twice over the phone after the former assumed office in January 2017. This will be their first personal meeting. The Indian Prime Minister will also meet prominent American CEOs and interact with the Indian diaspora in US. White House dinner US President Donald Trump would host him for a dinner at the White House on Monday. "The White House is very interested in making this a special visit. We're really seeking to roll out the red carpet. In fact, the two (leaders) will have dinner, a working dinner at the White House. 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. Modi will travel to Portugal on Saturday where he will meet the Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa. "Building on our recent discussions, we will review the progress of various joint initiatives and decisions," Prime Minister Modi said about his upcoming meeting with Costa. "We will also discuss ways to further enhance the bilateral engagement, especially in the areas of economic cooperation, science & technology, space collaboration and people to people ties," the Prime Minister added. In the last leg of his visit, Modi will visit the Netherlands on June 27 where he will meet the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and call on King Willem- Alexander and meet Queen Maxima. India and the Netherlands share a strong economic partnership. The Netherlands is India's 6th largest trading partner in the EU and 5th largest investment partner globally "The Dutch expertise in areas such as water and waste management, agriculture and food processing, renewable energy and ports and shipping, matches with our development needs," the prime minister said.

Indian PM Modi leaves for three-nation tour to 'deepen bilateral ties'

The United States (US) has asked India and Pakistan to sign and ratify Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in a bid to encourage the two countries to exercise restraint for improving strategic stability.
&quot;We welcome this high-level dialogue between India and Pakistan, encourage both countries to engage in the dialogue and exercise restraint aimed at improving strategic stability,&quot; &nbsp;State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said.&nbsp; 
 
Pakistan&#39;s recent proposal to India for a bilateral agreement for not conducting a nuclear testing of atomic weapons has been welcomed by Toner.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I think this proposal is something we would leave to India&#39;s consideration,&quot; he said at his daily news conference yesterday. 
 
&quot;It remains in our view that the most practical way to achieve a legally binding commitment on nuclear explosive testing would be for both states to sign and ratify the CTBT,&quot; Toner said. 
 
Pakistan on August 12 had said that it was ready for an agreement with India on a bilateral moratorium on nuclear non-testing. 
 
The multilateral treaty, CTBT, bans all nuclear explosions, including underground testing, for both military and civilian purposes.&nbsp;
This is not the first time the United States has asked non-NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty)&nbsp;signatories such as&nbsp;India and Pakistan to sign and ratify&nbsp;the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). 
 
The US (United States) has been saying this for long. That said, the US&#39;s&nbsp;appeal rings hollow given its own track record: The US itself is still to ratify the CTBT. 
 
India has consistently maintained that it is not in a hurry to sign up to the CTBT. Instead,&nbsp;it adheres to&nbsp;a unilateral, voluntary moratorium. Also, India&#39;s nuclear doctrine is based on a no-first-use policy, credible minimum deterrent&nbsp;and a second strike&nbsp;capability, including a nuclear triad, whereby India can inflict unacceptable damage on the enemy from land, air and sea. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans all nuclear explosions for both military and civilian purposes

The United States (US) has asked India and Pakistan to sign and ratify Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in a bid to encourage the two countries to exercise restraint for improving strategic stability. "We welcome this high-level dialogue between India and Pakistan, encourage both countries to engage in the dialogue and exercise restraint aimed at improving strategic stability," State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said. Pakistan's recent proposal to India for a bilateral agreement for not conducting a nuclear testing of atomic weapons has been welcomed by Toner. "I think this proposal is something we would leave to India's consideration," he said at his daily news conference yesterday. "It remains in our view that the most practical way to achieve a legally binding commitment on nuclear explosive testing would be for both states to sign and ratify the CTBT," Toner said. Pakistan on August 12 had said that it was ready for an agreement with India on a bilateral moratorium on nuclear non-testing. The multilateral treaty, CTBT, bans all nuclear explosions, including underground testing, for both military and civilian purposes. This is not the first time the United States has asked non-NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) signatories such as India and Pakistan to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The US (United States) has been saying this for long. That said, the US's appeal rings hollow given its own track record: The US itself is still to ratify the CTBT. India has consistently maintained that it is not in a hurry to sign up to the CTBT. Instead, it adheres to a unilateral, voluntary moratorium. Also, India's nuclear doctrine is based on a no-first-use policy, credible minimum deterrent and a second strike capability, including a nuclear triad, whereby India can inflict unacceptable damage on the enemy from land, air and sea. (WION with inputs from agencies)

US doesn't subscribe to CTBT, but asks India, Pakistan to sign it

india-us-ties

India Us Ties, News on India Us Ties, stories on India Us Ties, articles on India Us Ties, India Us Ties stories at Wion, India Us Ties news, India Us Ties latest news

india us-ties

Opinion: Indian PM Modi meets mob-linked president on his home turf

Indian PM Modi leaves for three-nation tour to 'deepen bilateral ties'

US doesn't subscribe to CTBT, but asks India, Pakistan to sign it