Donald Trump calls Narendra Modi 'true friend'; PM thanks US President for 'warm personal welcome'

Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday thanked Donald Trump for the 'warm personal welcome' and said that he was looking forward to meeting the US President.

He posted on Twitter: "Thank you @POTUS for the warm personal welcome. Greatly look forward to my meeting and discussions with you @realDonaldTrump."

Thank you @POTUS for the warm personal welcome. Greatly look forward to my meeting and discussions with you @realDonaldTrump. https://t.co/lOfxlLI7v0 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 25, 2017

The Ministry of External Affairs also tweeted:

Old partnerships, new friendships - PM @narendramodi arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Washington DC for 1st meeting with President Trump pic.twitter.com/pjOj5pNsU1 — Gopal Baglay (@MEAIndia) June 25, 2017

Earlier, Trump had called PM Modi a 'true friend'.

"Look forward to welcoming India's PM Modi to @WhiteHouse on Monday. Important strategic issues to discuss with a true friend," Trump had posted from his official Twitter handle.

Look forward to welcoming India's PM Modi to @WhiteHouse on Monday. Important strategic issues to discuss with a true friend! — President Trump (@POTUS) June 24, 2017

The two leaders will hold talks on Monday afternoon in the White House and would spend several hours together in various settings including one-on-one and delegation level meetings, a reception and a working dinner.

The working dinner that Trump is hosting for PM Modi is the first of its kind under the administration.

"The White House is very interested in making this a special visit. We're really seeking to roll out the red carpet. In fact, the two (leaders) will have dinner, a working dinner at the White House. This will be the first dinner for a foreign dignitary at the White House under this administration. So, we think that's very significant," a senior administration official told reporters at the White House, as per PTI. 

PM Modi arrived in US today after a day-long working visit to Portugal for his first bilateral meeting with Trump.

A host of strategic issues are expected to be discussed during the bilateral talks between the two leaders of the world's largest democracies, including defence cooperation, boosting economic ties, discussions on the civil nuclear deal, cooperation on combating terrorism, security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and India's concerns over the H-1B work visa.

He will interact with about 20 leading American CEOs followed by an Indian-American community event in the DC suburb of Virginia. The programme is likely to be attended by about 600 members of the community.

American CEOs expected to meet PM Modi today include Apple's Tim Cook, Walmart's Doug McMillon, Caterpillar's Jim Umpleby, Google's Sundar Pichai and Microsoft's Satya Nadella.

Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar flew into Washington ahead of Modi's visit to meet senior officials in the Trump administration and to lay the groundwork for the Modi-Trump meeting. 

On Friday, Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and both sides focused on areas of convergence, as per IANS.

PM Modi will visit the Netherlands on June 27 on the way back home.

(With Agency inputs)