PM Modi is arriving in Washington, D.C. on June 25 for his first face-to-face meeting with President Trump. There is some concern over how this meeting will go given the fact that Trump singled out India and China’s environmental practices as one of the reasons for exiting the Paris Climate Change Accord. He also has had his ups and downs with foreign leaders. My sense is that Modi and Trump will get along fine. Modi built a strong relationship with President Obama despite the administration banning him from visiting the U.S. when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat. Modi is a pragmatist and decided to move forward versus holding a grudge. Expectations are that he will apply the same pragmatism during his upcoming visit.

Following are my top five suggestions for PM Modi as he embarks on fostering a good relationship with President Trump:

Talk about defense contracts: India is a top buyer of U.S. defense equipment so engage the President on past and future deals. Recall how the arms deal with Saudi Arabia was considered a big win.

1. Offer assistance to reduce prescription drug costs in the U.S.: India is a low cost provider of generic medicine to the U.S. This puts India in a good spot to encourage more deals that reduce cost given Trump’s focus on healthcare policy.
2. Point out that Indian companies have contributed to jobs in U.S.: Discuss how Infosys and other companies have recently created 10,000 jobs here. Remember it’s all about jobs, jobs and more jobs!
3. Do not bring up H1b: President Trump was elected on the premise of offering Americans available jobs before those on a visa. Domestic politics usually takes precedent over geopolitical considerations.
4. Do not bring up the Climate Change Agreement: Trump is not going to change his mind about exiting the Paris Climate Accord anyway. It’s a done deal and a promise he made during the campaign.

Modi’s visit is supposed to be low key but can be leveraged nicely as he’ll see President Trump again soon at the G20 Summit. Best wishes for a good dialogue!

Trump only thinks jobs, jobs, jobs: @spuri Chairman @USINPAC @ShereenBhan pic.twitter.com/rInPxbtoSy

— CNBC-TV18 News (@CNBCTV18News) June 24, 2017

US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC)

US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC), www.usinpac.com is the political voice of over 3 million Indian Americans. USINPAC is engaged in activities important to the Indian American community. It also acts as a watchdog for the community on political issues. Besides its Primary objective of working closely with key members in the Congress, USINPAC supports candidates who share common values and interests.

USINPAC Exclusive Leadership Committee Dinner $1,000:
Benefits:

• Attendance to the dinner on Dec. 7^th with Transition team member
• Participate in Transition Team member calls

USINPAC Exclusive Leadership Committee Silver Membership $2,500:
Benefits:

• Attendance in transition team member dinner on Dec. 7^th
• Participation in future President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team member activities.
• Receive two tickets to Inaugural Ball 2017.

USINPAC Exclusive Leadership Committee Gold Membership $5,000:
Benefits:

• Attendance to dinner on Dec. 7th and participation in future President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team member activities.
• Receiving two tickets to Inaugural Ball 2017.
• Joining us with the Transition Team member delegation to India.

For other membership details please get in touch with us.
Please note:

• Contributions and gifts to USINPAC are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes.
• Contributions from Foreign Nationals who are not US Citizens or US Permanent Residents may not be accepted.

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President Elect Trump has promised to change Washington, DC and that will start with identifying and recruiting the finest men and women from across the country to serve in his Administration. Any individual who wishes to serve the Administration should utilize this online application in order to participate.

The President Elect will make appointments for a variety of positions throughout the federal government; some will require Senate confirmation, while others will not. Appointments that require Senate confirmation include the Cabinet, subcabinet, members of regulatory commissions, ambassadorships, judgeships, as well as members of numerous advisory boards. To apply please send us an email at- trumpadmin@usinpac.com. You can also visit- District Daybook or Great Again

US House Speaker Paul Ryan’s decision of inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address  a joint meeting of Congress was welcomed by the lawmakers. After a decade, Modi will be the fifth prime minister of India to visit Congress and is the first announced foreign leader to address a joint meeting under Ryan’s speakership. Modi is all set to arrive in the US on June 8^th, 2016. The opportunity to address the House and the Senate are considered a great honor. The decision demonstrates the strength and strategic partnership ties between US and India. It presents an opportunity to energize efforts and bilateral ties to achieve joint economic, security and strategic goals that increase peace and prosperity.

Back in 2014, the then Speaker Boehner had invited Modi in September to address a joint meeting of the US Congress, however, that did not take place as the Congress was in recess ahead of the 2014 general elections for the Congress. Manmohan Singh was the last Indian Prime Minister to address a joint meeting of the US congress way back in July, 2005. Other honorable prime ministers who addressed the Congress include Atal Bihari Vajpayee (September 14, 2000), P V Narasimha Rao (May 18, 1994) and Rajiv Gandhi (July 13, 1985). We can witness the dynamic growth and change in bilateral relationship between US-India since India’s independence in 1947 and it has grown tremendously.

As part of his itinerary, Modi may visit National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and new initiatives are likely to be announced. During his recent visit to Washington for the Nuclear Security Summit, a commercial agreement between Westinghouse Electric and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd to build six nuclear reactors in Gujarat was to be finalized and signed; this is expected to happen in his next visit in June.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third trip to the US for the Nuclear Security Summit has once again set ambitious goals for the two nations to deepen their bilateral ties. At the NSS dinner, Modi sat on the left side of President Obama in the East Room of the White House, and the duo exchanged some dialogues.

Modi began his speech at the Summit dinner by applauding President Obama’s sincere effort to address the issues of global security and nuclear terrorism. He said that terrorism is globally networked and nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority for every country. He also added that one country’s terrorist does not mean there’s no danger to another country; it is a collaborative effort of all nations to fight terrorism.

A glimpse into Modi’s itinerary includes a series of bilateral meetings with several leaders on the sideline including, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as well as President Obama, however, only one meeting has been officially announced, with Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key.

In the year 2015, USINPAC partnered with News X to host two Television Round Table Conferences in San Francisco. The main topics of discussion were Modi’s vision “Make in India” and “Is India ready to go digital?” The ‘Make in India’ roundtable discussions were directly linked to creating tomorrow’s smart cities in India, developing best practices around innovation and entrepreneurship, enhancing Indo-US trade relations and deepening the Indian sectors’ integration into the global supply chain. The second round table conference aimed to address the issues on creating a powerful digital infrastructure in India, making all businesses go ‘online’ and enhancing overall digital literacy in the country.

In addition to the above events, USINPAC also hosted a Congressional Briefing on US-India Nuclear Trade in June last year. Several leaders of the Indian American community supported USINPAC to facilitate the congressional approval of the US-India 123 Agreement in 2008, which set the stage for the two nations to join forces together for civilian nuclear energy trade; the event took place at Capitol Hill, which witnessed immense support for the historic passage of the 2006 Hyde Act.

The final series of NSS will adopt a five-point action plan as an objective to the outcomes of the NSS initiative, which will involve International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), UN, Interpol, Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) and G-8 to reinforce global nuclear security against nuclear terrorism. India is an active member of three of four forums but is only a participating member of G-8, sometimes called G8+5. The “+5” refers to countries like Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa.