2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Spicer, White House Press Secretary
"I'm also pleased to announce that prime minister -- that President Donald Trump will welcome Indian Prime Minister Modi to the White House on June 26th. He looks forward to discussing ways to strengthen our ties between the United States and India and advancing our common priorities: fighting terrorism, promoting economic growth and reforms and expanding security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. The two leaders will look to outline a common vision for US-India partnership that's worthy of India's 1.6 billion citizens."
3. Cutaway of Sean Spicer
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Sean Spicer, White House Press Secretary
"We've read these out a few times, but the president and the prime minister have had a number of positive phone conversations and expect to further that discussion when they meet in person on June 26th as I mentioned just a moment ago. Whether it's economic growth and reform, fighting terrorism, expanding our cooperation as major defense partners. US-India trade has grown six-fold since 2000, from $19 billion to $115 billion since 2016, and the Indian economy is growing at over seven percent. US energy and technologies including natural gas are helping to build Prime Minister Modi's vision for a new India and create thousands of US jobs in the process. You can expect the two of them to set forth a vision that will expand the US-India partnership in an ambitious and worthy way of both countries' people."
The White House announced Monday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington later this month for his first meeting with President Donald Trump.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Modi will meet Trump on June 26 to discuss bilateral relations.
Ties between the two countries prospered under former U.S. President Barack Obama, when India was seen as a partner to balance China's growing weight in Asia.
But Trump has focused on building ties with China, relying on it as key to tackling problems such as North Korea's nuclear program.
For India, other key concerns are Trump's decisions to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord and review the H1B visa program, under which thousands of skilled Indian workers go to the United States.
In announcing America's withdrawal from the Paris deal last month, Trump irked India by saying New Delhi had made its participation "contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid."
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said India did not sign the Paris accord because of the lure of money and would continue to be part of it, regardless of whether the United States participates.
Both sides have expected a bilateral nuclear agreement signed in 2006 during the George Bush administration to begin bearing fruit. India is expected to discuss the issue with Washington because China has blocked India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, demanding that India's rival, Pakistan, be treated on the same basis.
