June 25 | 12.00 a.m. (IST)
Mr. Modi left for the U.S. for his first meeting with President Donald Trump after concluding his brief visit to Portugal during which the two nations signed 11 agreements.
June 24 | 11.00 p.m. (IST)
Mr. Modi presented the Overseas Citizen of India card to his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa and described him as the best of the Indian diaspora across the world.
“Prime Minister Costa represents the best of the Indian diaspora across the world,” he said during a joint address to the media with Costa.
Later during a community reception, Mr. Modi presented Mr. Costa with the OCI card. Mr. Costa during his visit to India in January had been awarded the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman by the President of India. "Portuguese passion for football runs deep, PM Costa himself is a big fan. This could form another league to further connect our societies,” Mr. Modi said.
June 24 | 10.00 p.m. (IST)
Mr. Modi offered prayers at the Radha Krishna temple in Lisbon and interacted with prominent people of the Indian community.
The Hindu-Portuguese community has over 9,000 members, most of them originated from the ex-colonies held by the Portuguese. These members gather at the temple on a weekly basis. The temple is open for all the visitors.
June 24 | 5.15 pm (IST)
Mr. Modi arrives in Lisbon on the first leg of his three-nation tour . Later today, Mr. Modi will lead delegation-level talks with his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa before signing of agreements and launch of a India-Portugal start-up hub. Mr. Costa, who traces his origin to Goa, to visited India in January. In October 2005, Portugal extradited terror accused Abu Salem and Monica Bedi to India — in the first extradition from any European nation to India. In October 2015, Portugal became the first European and Western country, and only the fourth outside the East Asia Summit, to sign an MoU on the establishment of the Nalanda University in India. Read more
June 24 | 10.00 am (IST)
PM Modi is scheduled to visit Netherlands on June 27, 2017. "During the visit, I will have an official meeting with the Dutch Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Mark Rutte. I will also call on King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and meet Queen Maxima," he posted on Facebook.
2017 marks 70 years since diplomatic relations were established with the Dutch. The Netherlands is India's 6th largest trading partner in the EU and 5th largest investment partner globally, wrote Mr. Modi. "The Dutch expertise in areas such as water and waste management, agriculture and food processing, renewable energy and ports and shipping, matches with our development needs. Indo-Dutch economic engagement is a win-win proposition. I will discuss with PM Rutte as to how the two sides should work to further harness the synergies. I will also be meeting with CEOs of major Dutch companies and will encourage them to join the Indian growth story," he added.
June 24 | 9.30 am (IST)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s U.S. visit would strengthen the Indo-U.S. relationship and help advance the common interest in fighting terrorism and promoting economic growth, PTI reported Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as telling Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar at Washington.
Secretary Tillerson met with Foreign Secretary Jaishankar on Friday to discuss the U.S.-India relationship and the agenda for Prime Minister Modi’s meetings at the White House on June 26, a State Department spokesman said told PTI.
“The Secretary noted the Prime Minister’s visit will strengthen ties between the United States and India and advance our common interest in fighting terrorism, promoting economic growth and prosperity, and expanding security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region,” the spokesperson said.
Mr. Jaishankar also met other senior officials at the State Department.
June 24 | 8.00 am (IST)
The White House will “roll out the red carpet” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday , a senior administration official said on Friday, making it clear that Donald Trump administration will carry forward the agenda set by the previous Obama administration for U.S.-India relations.
Both leaders will spend nearly five hours on Monday, starting with a one-on-one meeting at 3.30, followed by a delegation level meeting, a cocktail reception and a working dinner, the official said, briefing on background. Mr. Modi will be the first foreign dignitary to be hosted by Mr. Trump for a White House dinner, the official said. Mr. Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for state dinners at his private golf resort Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
June 24 | 7.30 am (IST)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday left for Portugal, the first stop on his three-nation tour to Portugal, U.S. and the Netherlands. "PM Narendra Modi emplaned for Portugal, after which he shall visit USA and Netherlands for important bilateral visits," said Mr. Modi's official twitter account. This is also his third visit abroad this month.
Look west: Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A file photo.
"I will pay a working visit to Portugal on 24 June 2017. Our close historical and friendly ties have picked up momentum after H.E. Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s visit to India in January 2017," said Mr. Modi in a post on Facebook.
Mr. Costa and Mr. Modi are set to review the progress of various joint initiatives and decisions. "We will also discuss ways to further enhance the bilateral engagement, especially in the areas of economic cooperation, science & technology, space collaboration and people to people ties. We will deliberate on means to intensify our cooperation in counter-terrorism and on other international issues of mutual interest. I also see significant potential for deepening bilateral trade and investment ties," said Mr. Modi's Facebook post.
