PM Narendra Modi likely to meet Barack Obama in September in New York

NEW DELHI: Narendra Modi may meet Barack Obama — for their second meeting of the year — in New York in September last week on his way back from San Francisco to push bilateral ties that have gained significant momentum since the US President’s trip here for the Republic Day.

There is no official announcement about this high-profile bilateral meeting so far from either side but there are indications that the two leaders could meet in New York on September 28. It is understood that this meeting will be followed maiden Indo-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue in Washington. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman will lead India at that Dialogue which was upgraded to Strategic and Commercial Dialogue from the bilateral Strategic Dialogue at this January’s Obama-Modi meeting here.

While officials did not spell out the agenda of the Modi-Obama meeting with six-seven weeks still to go for the dialogue, it is understood that the two leaders will review entire gamut of bilateral ties ranging from strategic issues including situation in South China Sea region, defence ties, civil nuclear partnership, trade and investment relations, Indo-Pak relations, Afghanistan situation (amid rapprochement with Taliban), ISIS menace and Iran nuclear deal besides West Asian situation among other issues Modi could also meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in New York for the second interaction of the year between the two leaders with an eye on taking forward Ufa process.