Climate change will be a notable component of the agenda for the meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 28, the U.S. administration has said.
The Obama administration has been pressing the Modi government to make more commitments to combat climate change and the Prime Minister’s six-day tour of the U.S. may give some signals about India’s position at the COP in Paris later this year.
“Notably, India will be critical to a successful global effort to combat climate change, so the two leaders will certainly address their shared vision of how to approach the upcoming meetings in Paris,” Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said.
“We are deeply committed to strengthening the U.S.-Indian relationship, building our economic and commercial ties, advancing our political and security cooperation in Asia and around the world,” Mr. Rhodes said.
‘India is another major emitter’
U.S. President Barack Obama’s meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 28 will be important as it will cover climate change, the U.S. administration said.
“The President’s meeting with Prime Minister Modi will be very important because India, of course, is also another major economy-major emitter and we’ll want to continue the discussions that we had in India about what Prime Minister Modi is prepared to do to support successful international action against climate change,” Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said it was not appropriate to pre-empt the discussion before the two leaders met. “When the two leaders meet, they may choose to discuss many things,” he said, without specifically responding to Mr. Rhodes’ statement.
