Obama lauds green light for GST

ALL SMILES: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Barack Obama greet each other during a photo session at the 11th East Asia summit in Laos on Thursday.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for India’s progress on economic reforms.

“President Obama said the passage of GST will unleash significant economic activity, and also praised the Prime Minister’s vision of entrepreneurship and innovation which would be very important for a country like India,” sources present at the bilateral meeting between two leaders on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit said.

‘Warm meeting’

According to the sources, the meeting was “warm and friendly” but did not include some of the contentious issues like India’s push for more support for its stand on terror and demand for sanctions against Pakistan.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi had directly attacked Pakistan, without naming it, during two separate interventions, that followed equally critical remarks made at the G-20 summit Hangzhou China earlier this week.

However, the media briefing by a White House official after the bilateral meeting on possible ratification by India this year of the Paris climate treaty was not endorsed by Indian officials. The MEA spokesperson said no decision had been taken in either direction. “Government has made no decision as yet on ratifying the Paris Agreement. Domestic processes in this regard are still underway. A decision will be taken only when they are completed,” the spokesperson said.

The U.S. administration has been keen to have India ratify the protocol so it can be adopted worldwide before President Obama’s tenure ends.

However, India has been holding out thus far, making the lack of membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group a sticking point in meeting its clean energy commitments.

NSG entry

Officials noted that President Obama “underscored that the United States strongly supports India’s membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)” during the bilateral meet.

PM Modi’s meeting with President Obama, their 8th bilateral in the last two years, ended with an invitation to the outgoing American president to visit India.

Promising to be a “strong partner of India and help in any way I can”, President Obama told Mr Modi that he would welcome any opportunity to visit India, adding that he and U.S. first lady Michelle Obama were “yet to see the Taj Mahal”, a reference to his last visit to India in 2015, when a trip to Agra was cancelled at the last minute.