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Business Standard MUMBAI I THURSDAY, 30 MARCH 2017
After Trump phone call, govt weighs if Modi should visit US early
ARCH IS MOHAN
New Delhi,29 March
The Monday night phone call
of US President Donald Trump
to Prime Minister Narendra
Modi could pave the way for an
early visit of the Indian PM to
Washington. The Trump
administration is keen to host
Modi. But South Block is look-
ing at the potential deliverables
from such a visit, particularly
on H1B visas. The Indian PM's
political stature has increased
manifold after his recent elec-
toral successes, while Trump's
presidential tenure has moved
from one problem to another.
Delhi doesn't want Modi to
invest his substantial political
capital to help Trump burnish
his image, without the visit
yielding positive results for the
Indian side. Modi is scheduled
to visit New York to attend the
UN General Assembly in
September. But, the Trump-
Modi telephonic conversation
has indicated to South Block,
and to those who look at foreign
policy issues within the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
that the Trump administration
is keen to host the Indian PM
for a bilateral visit in the next
couple of months.
Earlier this month, Foreign
Secretary S Jaishankar, accom-
panied by Commerce Secretary
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Rita Teaotia, was in the US. Last
week, National Security Advisor
Ajit Kumar Doval was also on a
visit to the US. External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj and US
Secretary of State Rex W
US President Donald Trump
Tillerson had also recently spo-
ken over the phone.
In his phone call, Trump
congratulated Modi on his
recent state election victories,
expressed support for his eco-
nomic reforms and said he had
great respect for Indians, and
said he looked forward to host-
ing the PM later this year.
The window for such a visit is
available in May, as well as in
June after the PM attends the
Shanghai Cooperation Organ-
isation Summit in Kazakhstan
in the second week.The PM's US
visit could take place before his
visit to Hamburg, in Germany, to
attend the G20 Summit on July
7-8, and his bilateral visit to Israel
around that time.
It will be the first-ever visit of
an Indian PM to Israel. The
highlight of his policy changes
will be the PM's outreach to the
Indian diaspora there. Israel has
85,000 Jews of Indian origin.
Jews are an influential commu-
nity in the US, and some of
these groups had engaged with
Modi even during his time as
the Gujarat chief minister.
According to a source, Modi's
visit to the US before Tel Aviv
could help the PM engage with
the Jewish community there,
which would contribute to the
success of his Israel visit.
On Tuesday, the Indo-
American Chamber of
Commerce urged an early visit
of the PM to the US to "sort out
the apprehensions" of the Indian
industry on the negative impact
of tightening of visa rules relat-
ing to H1B and Li visas.