Modi meets John Kerry

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US Secretary of State John Kerry during a meeting  in New Delhi.

US Secretary of State John Kerry told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India's refusal to sign a global trade deal sent the wrong signal, and he urged New Delhi to work to resolve the row as soon as possible.

Modi with John Kerry

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US Secretary of State John Kerry (2L) and US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker (L) along with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (R) during a meeting in New Delhi.

"Failure to sign the Trade Facilitation Agreement sent a confusing signal and undermined the very image Prime Minister Modi is trying to send about India," a US State Department official told reporters after Kerry's meeting with Modi.

Modi with Kerry, Pritzker and Sushma Swaraj

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US Secretary of State John Kerry (c) and US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker along with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during a meeting in New Delhi.

"US and India is and should be indispensable partners in the 21st century… Now that India's new government has won an excellent mandate to deliver change and reform, together we have singular opportunity, to help India meet its challenge, to boost trade and investment, to support South Asia's connectivity, to develop cleaner energy, to develop security," Kerry told reporters during a joint press briefing with Swaraj. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) along with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (R) during a meeting in New Delhi.

"We all have a lot of homework to do. We need to put specifics on the table for PM Modi's visit to US to meet President Obama. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's visit "will pave the way to a new chapter in our ties of two great democracies," stated Kerry.

PM with Kerry, Pritzker and Sushma Swaraj

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US Secretary of State John Kerry during a meeting  in New Delhi.

Kerry in New Delhi as part of an annual strategic dialogue to revitalise ties and lay the ground for a visit by Modi to Washington in December.
 
The official said the meeting was "strong and positive" despite the breakdown at the trade talks in Geneva.

Modi meets John Kerry

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