The White House informed that, on the sidelines of the ASEAN summits, the Unites States President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have an unscheduled bilateral meeting on Thursday in Laos.
According to the White House, the meeting is scheduled to be held on Thursday afternoon after they both attend the East Asian summit. It would be followed by a press conference by Mr. Obama.
The White House said in its daily guidance released to the press, that, "In the afternoon, the President will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India."
The two leaders had already met in Washington in June this year, in what was meant to have been a “farewell call” ahead of the U.S. elections.
The officials said that, although, several substantive bilateral issues remain to be discussed, including India’s NSG membership bid, and the U.S. administration’s hope that India will ratify the Climate Change agreement from Paris by the end of 2016.
Earlier, President Barack Obama welcomes the growing role of India in the Asia-Pacific region. He said that, "The US is now part of the East Asia Summit, and together we've made it the leading forum in the region for addressing political and security challenges, including maritime security."
"Our two governments continue to have serious differences in important areas. The US will remain unwavering in our support for universal human rights, but at the same time, we've shown that we can work together to advance mutual interests,” he said.
“The US and China are engaged across more areas than ever before from preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, to our shared commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, to our historic leadership together on climate change,” Obama said.
"In other words, the US is more deeply engaged across the Asia Pacific than we have been in decades. Our position is stronger. And we've sent a clear message that, as a Pacific nation, we're here to stay. In good times and bad, you can count on the United States of America," Obama added.
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