PM Modi holds first bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden
Washington, Sep 24: The relationship between India and US, the two largest democracies in the world, is destined to be "stronger, closer and tighter," US President Joe Biden said on Friday as he hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House for the first bilateral meeting during which the two leaders discussed a wide range of priority issues, including combating COVID-19, climate change and economic cooperation.
Prime Minister Modi, who is visiting the US for the 7th time after assuming office in 2014, described Friday's bilateral summit with Biden as important as they're meeting at the start of the third decade of this century.
"Your leadership will certainly play an important role in how this decade is shaped. The seeds have been sown for an even stronger friendship between India and the US, Prime Minister Modi told Biden.
Biden said the relationship between India and the US, largest democracies in the world, is "destined to be stronger, closer and tighter.
"We are watching a new chapter in India-US ties, he added.
Modi said this decade will be shaped by talent and people-to-people linkages. I am glad the Indian diaspora is making an active contribution towards the US' progress."
He said that technology is becoming a driving force. We have to utilise our talents to leverage technology for greater global good.
Noting that trade will be an important factor in Indo-US ties in the coming decade, the Prime Minister said that there is much to be done in the area.
While the two leaders have met earlier when Biden was the Vice President of the country, this is for the first time that Biden is meeting Modi after he became the 46th president of the US in January.
Both Biden and Prime Minister Modi have spoken over the phone multiple times and have attended a few virtual summits, including that of the Quad in March hosted by the US president. The last telephone conversation between them took place on April 26.
"This morning I'm hosting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House for a bilateral meeting. I look forward to strengthening the deep ties between our two nations, working to uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific, and tackling everything from COVID-19 to climate change," President Biden tweeted minutes before the meeting.
Meeting @POTUS @JoeBiden at the White House. https://t.co/VqVbKAarOV
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 24, 2021
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I like both sides of argument on H-1B; want competent people coming into US: Donald Trump
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump said he likes both sides of the argument on H-1B foreign guest workers' visa, noting that he likes "very competent people" coming into the country and that he has used the programme.
"I like both sides of the argument, but I also like very competent people coming into our country, even if that involves them training and helping other people that may not have the qualifications they do. But I don't want to stop -- and I'm not just talking about engineers, I'm talking about people at all levels," Trump told reporters at the White House during a joint news conference with Oracle CTO Larry Ellison, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, and Open AI CEO Sam Altman.
The president was responding to a question on the ongoing debate on H-1B visa within his support base.
While his close confidants like Elon Musk, the Tesla owner, supports H-1B visa as it brings in qualified tech professionals, many of his supporters oppose it arguing that it takes away jobs from Americans.
"We want competent people coming into our country. And H-1B, I know the programme very well. I use the programme. Maître d', wine experts, even waiters, high-quality waiters -- you've got to get the best people. People like Larry, he needs engineers, Masa also needs... they need engineers like nobody's ever needed them," Trump said.
"So, we have to have quality people coming in. Now by doing that, we're expanding businesses and that takes care of everybody. So I'm sort of on both sides of the argument, but what I really do feel is that we have to let really competent people, great people, come into our country. And we do that through the H-1B programme," Trump added.
