Obama to discuss security issues on PM Narendra Modi's US visit

The United States on Tuesday said it shares a very broad relationship with India and key issues of security, economy and energy among others would be discussed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit to the country.

"We are all looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Modi to Washington for a number of meetings," State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf told foreign correspondents at a news conference in Washington.

US President Barack Obama's administration is gearing up to give a red carpet welcome to Prime Minister Modi when he arrives in Washington on September 29 from New York where he would attend the annual General Assembly session of the United Nations.

Modi is scheduled to meet Obama at the White House on September 29 and 30.

"This is a broad relationship we have with India in a whole host of areas. Certainly security; I'm sure we'll talk a lot about security issues. Environmental issues, energy issues, economic issues - our relationship with India really is a very broad one where we talk about a whole range of topics," she said in response to a question.

The US, she said, wants India to have good relationships with all the countries in the region, including China. In a lot of these areas, we have overlapping interests. So we certainly are welcoming the Prime Minister to Washington, having a full agenda, she said.

Afghanistan, Harf said, is important to a lot of people but more so to the Indians. I think that'll certainly be a topic of conversation, Harf said.

The discussion between Prime Minister Modi and the US President over two days in Washington is expected to result in taking the bilateral relationship to the next level in terms of defense and strategic ties, co-operation in the field of space and counter-terrorism and unleash the potential of economic and trade ties, sources familiar with the preparations had told PTI earlier.

On September 29, Obama is likely to host the Inidan PM for a small working dinner, which is rarely accorded to a visiting foreign leader.

The maiden meeting between the two leaders on September 29 would help them to know each other and prepare the ground for the next day's meeting at the White House.

Soon after Modi's electoral victory, Obama had called to congratulate him and invited him to visit Washington. Thereafter the two leaders have not spoken over phone, but there has been an exchange of letters between the two.