Time to set new agenda, say Modi and Obama

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama Tuesday said it was time to set a new agenda that realises benefits for their citizens and asserted that the two countries would deepen their relationship.

In a joint op-ed piece published on the website of Washington Post, Modi and Obama said the true potential of the bilateral relationship was yet to be fully realised.

They said India and the US would expand their collaboration in trade, investment and technology that harmonises with New Delhi's ambitious development agenda and sustains US as the global engine of growth.

The two leaders said the new government in India presented a natural opportunity to strengthen mutual ties and they could go beyond modest and conventional goals.

"The advent of a new government in India is a natural opportunity to broaden and deepen our relationship. With a reinvigorated level of ambition and greater confidence, we can go beyond modest and conventional goals. It is time to set a new agenda, one that realises concrete benefits for our citizens," the jointly written article said.