New Delhi, February 25: Prime Minister Narendra Modi told US President Donald Trump about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A that many positive works are being done there. The situation is normal there and foreign diplomats including the US Ambassador have visited to ascertain the situation, said Foreign Secretary.
Foreign Secretary Harshvardhan Shringla told the media while giving details of the talks between the two leaders that the subject of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was not covered in the talks. However, Trump was informed about the developments in Jammu and Kashmir. He said that the two countries have decided to transform their strategic partnership into a comprehensive, global, strategic partnership. It has been decided to set up two Working Groups to curb drug trafficking and strengthen internal security.
He said that five points were specifically discussed during the talks. Security, defense, energy, technology and people-to-people contacts. The Indian side emphasized the smooth issuance of H1B visas to Indian professionals, especially those skilled in information technology.
The Foreign Secretary said that the US President assured the Prime Minister that the US would give priority to India to initiate joint projects in defense and transfer of defense related technology and defense procurement.
The two leaders spent about five hours in talks during which both aspects of bilateral relations were discussed. The two sides decided to speed up the negotiation process to reach an early conclusion of the trade agreement. Shringla said that both sides also felt the need to broaden the global connectivity system including India Pacific.
