Washington, Feb 14 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi had an “insightful discussion” with Vivek Ramaswamy, a rising US politician, about relations between the two countries.
“They had insightful discussions on India-US ties, innovation, biotechnology, and the role of entrepreneurship in shaping the future, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on X after the meeting at the Blair House.
Ramaswamy, a billionaire biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and finance entrepreneur, is running for Governor of Ohio.
He contested the Republican presidential primary against President Donald Trump, but dropped out and threw his support behind him.
Ramaswamy was briefly the co-head with Elon Musk of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
He is close to Trump, who has praised his intelligence and entrepreneurship.
Ramaswamy made a strong pitch for retaining and reforming H-1B visa system for professionals that is heavily used by Indian professionals.
He tangled with the extreme right that wants the programme ended, saying that the immigrants were needed because many Americans did not have the same drive and commitment to education.
Ramaswamy’s parents came to the US from Palakkad district in Kerala and Ramaswamy was raised in Ohio. His father has held on to his Indian passport.
Earlier, PM Modi met SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to explore opportunities in space, mobility, technology, and energy, while also exchanging ideas on governance efforts in India and the US. Musk, who was appointed by President Donald Trump last month to lead the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrived at Blair House with his family, including three children, for the meeting.
Earlier, Prime Minister Modi received National Security Advisor Mike Waltz at Blair House on Thursday and Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday, who had called on him within hours of being confirmed as the Director of National Intelligence, making her the top spy in the US, heading the 18-member Intelligence Community.
Prime Minister Modi is in Washington DC on a short two-day visit at the invitation of President Trump, for their first in-person interaction after the latter’s return to the White House for a second non-consecutive second term. They have spoken on phone twice until now, once in November after Trump’s re-election and then after his inauguration in January. They met several times in Trump’s first term, from 2017 to 2021, and famously jointly addressed a Howdy Modi rally in Houston in 2019 and a Namaste Trump rally in Ahmedabad in 2020.
PM Modi, who arrived in the US on Wednesday (local time), is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House later on Thursday.
India’s Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, and other officials, including PM Modi were received at the airport.
Upon arrival in the US, PM Modi said that he looked forward to meeting with the US President and building upon the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.
In his departure statement, ahead of his US visit PM Modi noted that the visit will be an opportunity to build on the successes of collaboration in his first term and develop an agenda to further elevate and deepen the partnership between the two nations.
–IANS
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