Text of PM’s statement to the media in the Joint Press Briefing with US President Barack Obama

President Obama, Members of the media, It is a great pleasure to meet President Obama in New York. Thank you for hosting this meeting. I deeply value your friendship and your vision and commitment for the relationship between our two countries. We have achieved significant progress in our bilateral cooperation and international partnership. I was in Silicon Valley over the weekend. I experienced the strength of American innovation and enterprise that provide the foundation of American success. I also saw the driving force of our relationship – youth, technology and innovation; and, the natural partnerships of Indian and Americans in advancing human progress. California also reminds us that India and the United States are part of the dynamic Asia Pacific Region. Amid the problems that the world faces today and the global challenges that we see ahead, our partnership is of great significance for us and our world. We can apply innovation and technology for achieving Sustainable Development Goals, including combating climate change and conserving Nature. President and I share an uncompromising commitment on climate change, without affecting our ability to meet the development aspirations of humanity. We have both set ambitious national agendas. In India, our measures include not just a plan to add 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022, but a development strategy that will enable us to transition to a more sustainable energy mix. This is an exercise we are undertaking in the spirit of our culture and tradition, but also because of our commitment to the future of this planet. Our extraordinary bilateral partnership in the energy sector focuses on clean and renewable energy and energy efficiency. I also thank President Obama for his positive response to my call for a global public partnership for developing affordable clean energy sources that will enable faster adoption of clean energy across the world. We should work together to advance that goal. And, it is equally important to develop mechanisms to ensure that the affordable also become accessible to those who need it the most. We look forward to comprehensive and concrete outcome in Paris with a positive agenda on combating climate change, which also focuses on access to finance and technology for the developing world, especially the poor countries and small island states. I thanked President Obama for U.S. support for India’s permanent membership of a reformed UN Security Council. I also sought U.S. support to complete the reform process within a fixed time frame. I expressed our appreciation for continued U.S. support for India’s membership of the international export control regimes within our targeted time frame. Our partnership addresses a broad range of strategic and security concerns. Our defence cooperation, including defence trade and training, is expanding. As existing terrorism threats grow and new ones emerge, we have resolved to further deepen cooperation on counter terrorism and radicalism. We have just had a successful cyber security dialogue. We have agreed to further strengthen our consultation and cooperation on helping the Afghan people combat terrorism and build a peaceful, stable and prosperous future of their nation. I welcomed the progress in giving shape to our Joint Strategic Vision on Asia, Pacific and Indian Ocean Regions as also our joint engagement with regional partners like Japan. This will also strengthen our maritime security cooperation. To further increase our strategic engagement in the region, I look forward to working with the U.S. for India’s early membership of Asian Pacific Economic Community. Our economic partnership is a key driver of our relationship. I have had excellent meetings with business leaders in New York and San Jose. I am very pleased with their confidence in India and value their constructive feedback and suggestions. We will also continue to work towards a stronger bilateral framework of economic cooperation, including the Bilateral Investment Treaty and Totalisation Agreement. This meeting and my engagements in the U.S. demonstrate the extraordinary depth and diversity of our relationship. Our meeting today was very productive in advancing some of our immediate priorities as also our broader strategic partnership. Thank you.