Lisbon: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday arrived here on the first leg of his three-nation tour during which he will hold talks with his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa to boost bilateral ties.
“Ola Portugal. PM @narendramodi arrives in Lisbon, departing from protocol Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva receives the Prime Minister,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted along with some photographs.
Before leaving for Lisbon, Modi had said during his meeting with Costa, the two leaders will build on their recent discussions and review the progress of various joint initiatives and decisions.
Portuguese Prime Minister Costa tweeted this is an excellent opportunity to review the implementation of the accords agreed during his India visit and sign new agreements.
The highlight of Modi’s four-day three-nation visit will be the US leg as Modi will be meeting President Donald Trump for the first time on June 26 in Washington.
Ahead of his US visit, Modi said he looked forward to the opportunity of having an in-depth exchange of views.
“My USA visit is aimed at deepening ties between our nations. Strong India-USA ties benefit our nations & the world,” he had tweeted.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Modi said his two-day visit to Washington from June 25 was at the invitation of Trump.
Apart from official meetings with Trump and his cabinet colleagues, Modi will be meeting some prominent American CEOs.
After the US visit, Modi will travel to the Netherlands on June 27 where he will have a meeting with the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and call on King Willem-Alexander and meet Queen Maxima.
This year, the two countries are celebrating 70 years of the establishment of Indo-Dutch diplomatic relations.
“I look forward to meeting Prime Minister Rutte and reviewing our bilateral relations. I would be exchanging views with PM Rutte on important global issues including counter- terrorism and climate change,” Modi said ahead of the visit.
The US is interested in providing India with the kind of defence technology it normally reserves for its closest allies, the White House has said, signalling the Trump administration’s resolve to strengthen the bilateral defence relationship.
However, a senior administration official refrained from confirming reports that the State Department has approved the sale of 22 Guardian drones to India.
“We can’t really talk about a potential or pending arms sale before they are actually notified to Congress,” the official said.
“But I will simply note that the defence relationship is extremely important. The US is interested in leaning forward in providing high technology, the kind of technology it provides to its closest allies and partners,” the senior administration official said.
Defence is expected to be a major agenda item when Trump hosts Modi at the White House next week.
“We’re looking at a very productive visit. These kinds of sales that we’re talking about are important for the strategic partnership, for cooperating in areas like the Indian Ocean region, increasing that cooperation, serving the interests of both countries,” the official said.
“They create jobs, -- these kind of defence deals create a lot of jobs here in the US. So they’re right in line with this administration’s priorities.
“And of course, the United States is the world’s technological leader in the kind of systems that you have mentioned,” the official said in response to a question.
