Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told US President Donald Trump that Kashmir is an internal issue of India and that it is a bilateral issue, clearly scotching any attempts to have mediation on Jammu and Kashmir issue.
This is a major diplomatic victory for India and the body language of the two leaders was reflective of the chemistry they enjoy.
They had a brief interaction with the media on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Biarritz, France.
The meeting was seen as a fruitful and engaging one between the two leaders and largely issues of trade and energy cooperation were discussed.
The Big Takeaways –
The main areas that the two leaders focused on revolved around the following:
Kashmir remained the main topic on the agenda. After making repeated offers for mediation on the “explosive Kashmir issue”, US President Donald Trump said that India and Pakistan can sort the issue out between themselves.
This comes as a big win for India as Pakistan has been trying to get global support after the government revoked special status for Jammu and Kashmir. “All issues between India and Pakistan are bilateral in nature, that is why we don’t bother any other country regarding them,” Prez Trump said, adding that PM Modi told him the situation in Kashmir is under control.
PM Modi, on his part also made it clear that the issue between Pakistan and India are bilateral. “Issues between India and Pakistan are bilateral nature, and we do not want mediation from any country in the world. If before 1947 we were one country, then I think we can find a solution now too,” he said.
Trade – The leaders spoke about trade issues and President Trump called this one of the biggest achievements at the summit. Apart from trade, energy was another key focus at the Trump-Modi meeting.
Ways to counter terrorism – PM Modi stressed upon continued cross border terrorism from Pakistan and reiterated the fact that Islamabad should be asked to stop terror attacks in India.
They also talk about expanding Indo US cooperation in Defence.
PM Modi also said that he will have a round table meeting of top energy CEO’s in Houston in September when he is in the US.
This was 2019’s second meeting between the two leaders and comes two months after they met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.
The two leaders shared immense camaraderie and respect for each other that was visible in their chemistry during the briefing. PM Modi said that India and US have shared democratic values for a long time.
Amid serious deliberations on Kashmir and trade, US President Donald Trump shared some light moments before the reporters. Trump said that PM Modi ‘speaks very good English’ to which both the leaders broke into a burst of hearty and warm laughter.