New Delhi: Foreign secretary S. Jaishankar left on Thursday for the United States to work on the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States on June 25 and 26 where he will meet US President Donald Trump, even as the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said rather candidly that “there are certain areas on which we (India and the US) need to understand each other better”.
PM Modi will reach Washington on the night of June 24. The next day, on June 25, he will have a meeting with US CEOs and senior representatives of the business community there. There will also be a community event in the afternoon of June 25, the MEA indicated. On the forenoon of June 26, senior officials of the US administration will call on PM Modi.
“In the afternoon of June 26, we have the official engagements with President Trump. There will be official level talks,” the MEA said.
“When the two leaders meet, it’s not our practice to constrain their agenda... The leaders have the entire gamut of the relationship in front of them... It (the ties) has been described as the defining partnership of the 21st century,” MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay said on Thursday.
“There are certain areas on which we need to understand each other better and that’s the aim of a dialogue,” he added.
When a reporter sought to know whether India was facing problems dealing with a “maverick” like President Trump, the MEA spokesperson said, I do not agree with your description of the (US) President. It’s not the government’s policy to put labels or describe personalities. We deal with people who are in position. President Trump and PM Modi have had three very useful conversations on telephone. This will be their first meeting in person.”
