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Transcript of Special Briefing by Foreign Secretary on Prime Minister's visit to USA (September 23, 2024)

India - Ministry of External Affairs

September 24, 2024

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good evening friends, welcome to this Special Press Briefing by Foreign Secretary, Shri Vikram Misri on the Prime Minister's visit to the United States. We are also joined here by Ambassador of India to the United States, Ambassador Vinay Kwatra and Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, Ambassador P. Harish. As also Joint Secretary who looks after the United States of America in Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Nagaraj Naidu. With that, I invite Foreign Secretary to make his opening remarks. So over to you.

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: Thank you, Randhir. Good evening all. The Prime Minister has just concluded a very intense and successful visit to the United States and will be departing shortly for India. Now, we had kept you posted on the various elements of his program through yesterday and today as well; I think yesterday, there were Press Releases issued on all elements of his program, the Community Event in Long Island, the Tech Roundtable that had been organized by the MIT School of Engineering, the bilateral meetings that he had yesterday with the Prime Minister of Nepal, the Crown Prince of Kuwait and the President of Palestine.

Prime Minister also had a meeting yesterday with the CEO of Holtec International, an Indian American, Mr. Krishna Singh, a very useful meeting. Today, as you are aware, was largely multilateral day. As I told you, this was a visit that had the bilateral, the plurilateral and the multilateral. Today was a multilateral day, primarily with Prime Minister's address to the Summit of the Future in the morning. And this afternoon, the Prime Minister had a meeting with the President and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, His Excellency To Lam. And he has just concluded his engagements for the day with a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.

I have a few additional details. I think the Community Event, most of you must have watched it or you were present for it, so I won't go into the details of the event except to say that it once again showed the kind of connect that the Indian American community has built in the United States and the manner in which it acts as a living bridge between our two countries. And the Prime Minister acknowledged that in his remarks. The highlights, of course, were his announcement about India's plans to open two new Consulates in Boston and Los Angeles, and also the naming of Thiruvalluvar Chair in Tamil studies at the University of Houston.

The Tech Roundtable, I had said in my curtain raiser Press Briefing as well as in my briefing on the first day of the visit here, that this visit has a very strong technology element to it. You saw that technology element reflected in the Quad Joint Statement as well. You saw it reflected in the US India Bilateral Fact Sheet as well, and in his other meetings as well, this has been reflected not just with the MIT organized Roundtable but also in his meeting with the CEO of Holtec.

The Roundtable was especially useful. It gathered the who's who of the leading companies in the field of AI, semiconductors, quantum computing, life sciences, IT and communications. I think the list is already available with you, so I won't go into that. But what was striking about the Roundtable was the extent of involvement that all of these companies already have in India, the degree to which they are enthused by the prospects in India, the policy environment in India and their plans to continue to grow in India and grow with India for themselves and for the rest of the world. And I think that's what was really a feature of the remarks of practically every one of the CEOs of how excited they are for their own businesses in India, especially at this moment in time when things like AI and quantum computing are changing the world as we know it.

The particular sense in India at this time that technology can be a driver of seminal change for the nation but also for countries of the Global South in general, which should not be left behind in this race for technology. They felt that India could play a leadership role in this regard. The Prime Minister of course shared with them his own thoughts about the new policies that are coming into play. You are aware of the India Semiconductor Mission, for instance, there is a second edition of that, that is in the works, and he shared his thoughts about those policies that are coming, and invited them to be a part of this exciting journey that India has embarked on and also it gave the opportunity to reflect on how technology has become a core driver of the India-US strategic partnership.

Insofar as the bilateral meetings are concerned, I think you already have some sense of the meeting that took place with the Prime Minister of Nepal, this was the first time that the two Prime Ministers were meeting after Prime Minister's own election for the third term, because Prime Minister Oli was not in office at that time and then Prime Minister Oli took office in Nepal. So, this was their first meeting in this particular phase, gave them the opportunity to reflect on the unique and close bilateral relationship between the two countries and their intention to make progress in all areas of bilateral relations including the development partnership, the cooperation on energy, on power; on connectivity insofar as energy is concerned, physical connectivity, people to people connectivity, etc.

Prime Minister also had a meeting with the Crown Prince of Kuwait where he remarked on the very close relationship between the two countries and in fact the Crown Prince of Kuwait said that India is a part of Kuwait's history and in fact cited some old sayings from Kuwait that reflected the closeness of the relationship between the two countries. There are a few high level visits in both directions that were deliberated upon and these will be planned in the coming months.

The Prime Minister's meeting with the President of Palestine, the Prime Minister referred to India's historic support for Palestine in the United Nations on the international stage as also the consistent and sustained humanitarian support that India has provided to Palestine in the fields of health, education, capacity building and others. He also expressed deep concern at the unfolding crisis in Gaza where the situation remains complicated and tensions remain high and reiterated once again that only a two-State solution can deliver sustainable peace in this area. The President of Palestine thanked the Prime Minister for the assistance that India had provided including on the political issues and hoped that India would continue to play its role for bringing peace in the region.

Today, as I said, the Prime Minister had meetings with the President of Vietnam and the President of Ukraine. With the President of Vietnam again, as you know, the President has also just very recently taken over as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The Prime Minister congratulated him on his assumption of this new position. He also recalled the visit of the Vietnamese Prime Minister to India recently, the significance of the India-Vietnam strategic relationship. He expressed condolences for the recent devastation in Vietnam on account of Cyclone Yagi.

General Secretary and President To Lam thanked Prime Minister for his good wishes, thanked him for the aid operation that India had launched under Operation Sadbhav recently to bring relief aid to Vietnam. Prime Minister also invited him to visit India, an invitation which was accepted and will be worked on through other channels. Both sides remarked on the growing relationship, especially in the fields of defence and security, energy and of course cultural contact, which remains a very strong part of the relationship.

The day ended just a short while ago with a meeting between Prime Minister and President Zelenskyy. This, as you would have remarked, is the third meeting between the two leaders in the space of about four months, probably three months if I am not mistaken. It gave an opportunity to take stock again of the recent developments. Our Prime Minister recalled his visit to Kiev, their discussions on all matters, the bilateral issues, as well as issues surrounding the Russia-Ukraine conflict. President Zelenskyy was very appreciative of India's attention to these issues and said that Prime Minister's visit had been highly appreciated. And he thanked the Prime Minister for the efforts that he was making for peace and a pathway to finding a way out of this conflict. Both sides appreciated that there was positive momentum on a lot of issues in the bilateral relationship. And they agreed to remain in close touch, either directly or through exchanges of visits at various other levels. As you would probably be aware, there is an Inter-Governmental Commission between the two sides. And there was some discussion about arranging a meeting of the Inter-Governmental Commission, which is headed at the levels of the two Foreign Ministers.

There was this meeting yesterday with Dr. KP Singh, as I said, who is chairman of Holtec International, which is a leading US player in the civil nuclear field, and especially in the exciting new field of small modular reactors. And there was a discussion on the possibility of the application of that technology in the Indian context. And I imagine that these discussions will continue at the technical levels.

Last, but certainly not the least, was today's main event, which was Prime Minister's address at the Summit of the Future at the UN General Assembly. Here, as you are aware, the Summit is taking place against the backdrop of conflict in the world, challenges to sustainable development, including in the fields of climate, health, energy, education, gender, etc. The objective of the Summit is to rebuild trust in the multilateral system and showcase the power of international collaboration in addressing current and future challenges. And for the first time, the entire UN membership, through the Pact for the Future that was adopted this morning, has agreed on a pathway to transform global governance. And it is expected that this will provide some momentum to the processes that are already underway in many of these areas within the UN system.

Prime Minister, therefore, highlighted in his remarks, which you would have seen, that in order to stay relevant, the multilateral system has to reform. Reform is the key to relevance, as he said. And he spoke of India's own example and said we've shown how sustainable development can take place at scale successfully, and demonstrated India's readiness to share our experiences with the world, especially in the field of digital public infrastructure. I think his speech is available. Overall, this has been, as I said, an extremely intense visit. I think it's lasted about 55 or 56 hours in all. But we've had very significant outcomes in the bilateral, in the plurilateral, and in the multilateral domains that have enabled India to say its piece and share its thoughts on a global stage. And I'm sure the results from this will stand us in good stead as we move forward.

Let me stop there. I think the delegation is on a really, really short time slot. I think we can take a few questions.

Vishnu: Good evening, sir. Vishnu Som from NDTV. At whose request did the meeting between the Ukrainian President and Prime Minister happen? And was there acceptance of our argument that the import of Russian oil does not translate into furthering Russia's war effort?

Krishna Mohan: Sir, Krishna Mohan Sharma from Bharat Express. Prime Minister ne apni speech mei kaha ki sustainable development jo hai woh battleground mei nahi ho sakta, uske baad Ukraine ke Zelenskyy se unki mulakat hui, toh iska kya natija dekha jaye? Kuch aisi umeed hai ki ye yuddh khatam hoga kyuki pura vishwa jo hai woh Bharat ki taraf dekh raha hai?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, Krishna Mohan Sharma from Bharat Express. In his speech, Prime Minister said that sustainable development cannot happen in the battlefield, and after that, he met with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy. What should we see as the outcome of this? Is there any hope that this war will end, as the whole world is looking towards India?

Prashant: Sir, Prashant Jha of the Hindustan Times. One question on tech, sir. In the conversation yesterday with the CEOs, while they were appreciative of India's strengths, were there regulatory legislative changes that they suggested which could enable them to participate in the India story more? And did DPI come up and what are the mechanisms through which we are pushing or planning to push DPI out?

On Ukraine, sir, a quick follow up to Vishnu's question. Besides the normative desire for peace, which the Prime Minister has consistently pushed, was there a discussion on the empirical pathway to peace and the specifics of what that would entail? Thank you.

Seema: Seema Sirohi, The Economic Times. Mr. Foreign Secretary, I had a question about the US-India big picture. As you might know, there was some meeting that the White House called with Sikh activists and also there is a case going on. Some people think that's why the NSA did not come in the delegation. While the Bilateral Joint Statement is expansive, substantive and great, there are these little things that keep happening. I mean, I don't know if I should call them little, but how should we interpret the big picture in this case?

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: Okay, the meeting with President Zelenskyy was a meeting that the Ukrainian side requested and that accordingly took place. Insofar as your question related to oil is concerned, that did not figure in the discussions today. As I said, you know, this is the third meeting between the leaders in the last three months or so. A lot of the issues have been discussed, but at this particular meeting, this particular subject was not discussed.

Krishna aapka jo sawal tha ki Pradhan Mantri ji ne kaha ki sustainable development yuddh ke mahol mei nahi ho sakta, toh ek tarah se jo Rashtrapati Zelenskyy ke sath bhi bhent hui hai usmei bhi Pradhan Mantri ji ko ye kehne ka avsar mila ki unhone hamesha shanti ka prastav le ke, shanti ke path par aage badhne ki baat ki hai. Toh saaf baat hai ki agar shanti nahi hai toh ek tarah se sustainable development bhi nahi ho sakta. Toh ye donon chizain judi hui hain. Kya yuddh ka ant hoga? Ye to samay hi batayega. Lekin sab logon ki jo koshish hai woh isi or kendrit hai ki kisi tarah se yuddh ka ant dhunda jaye aur Pradhan Mantri ji ne apni jo unki Rashtrapati Zelenskyy se batchit hui usmai unhone unko bataya bhi, unki alag-alag deshon ke jo neta hain unse batchit hui hai aur is vishay par batchit hoti rehti hai aur sabka mat yahi hai ki kisi na kisi tarah se humko yuddh viram ke liye koi na koi rasta nikalna padega aur isiko lekar hamari bhi koshishe jari hain.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] Krishna, your question was about the Prime Minister's statement that sustainable development cannot happen in the battlefield. In a way, during the meeting with President Zelenskyy, Prime Minister had the opportunity to reiterate that he has always proposed moving forward on the path of peace. It's clear that without peace, sustainable development cannot happen. These two things are interconnected. Will the war end? Only time will tell. But everyone's efforts are focused on finding a way to end the war. The Prime Minister also mentioned during his conversation with President Zelenskyy that he has been in talks with leaders of different countries, and discussions on this matter are ongoing. The consensus is that we must find a way to achieve a ceasefire, and our efforts are continuing in that direction.

Prashant, about the meeting with the tech CEOs, yes, a few of them did comment on the issues related to the regulatory and the legislative environment. I would say that some of them, while they said or referred to some aspects that needed addressing in India, but at the same time they were also enormously appreciative of the ecosystem and the environment that already existed in India, and that in fact enabled them to take advantage of the opportunities that were there in India. So, the idea was that we are doing well. We, I mean in terms of the companies in India are doing well. They can do even better and they intend to do even better, and some enabling measures by the government would help in that regard. The Prime Minister said that he remained open to hearing their suggestions and doing everything that was necessary in order to enable India to take advantage of the enormous opportunities that are presented by these breakthrough technologies, finding fertile ground in India, to not only make India grow, but for these companies growing in India and enabling their operations elsewhere in the world also to grow.

On DPI, yes, there was a reference. I think the reference was mostly complementary in terms of the manner in which India had rolled out this concept and, in fact, shown a third way to the world of how digital prowess could be leveraged for social and public good, not just in one country, but in a scalable manner to the rest of the world. And we are, in fact, at work back home to develop a model. Some aspects are already under discussion with some of our interlocutors and partners in other countries, but we are working on a plan to see how we can get this to roll out on a much larger scale in countries where there would be a requirement for this.

On your supplementary question about Ukraine and whether, in addition to the normative, there is clarity on the specifics; in some senses, first there has to be clarity on the normative aspect. As Mahatma Gandhi, I think, said once, there is no path to peace. Peace is the path. So there needs to be agreement on that. But in addition to that, I would say that the discussions that are ongoing today, they are focused on the specifics. There have been, earlier as well, questions about these specifics. There are obviously discussions going on in multiple forums around the world. You have various processes that are underway, various formats that we have seen. And we have been involved in some of those, where the idea has been to try and see if there is something around which a consensus can develop. As a result of the Prime Minister's visit to Kyiv, you are following the development since then, where the Prime Minister subsequently has been in touch with President Putin in Russia, with President Biden here in the US, our National Security Advisor visited Russia also recently. So there are a number of conversations that are going on. The attempt in all of these is to try and move towards some specifics. I don't say that the specifics are available today, but the attempt is to do precisely that.

Seema, on your question related to the US-India big picture and then what you refer to as things that keep happening; frankly speaking, what you have referred to, honestly, the question would probably be better directed at the actors that are involved in these things, as you say. We are quite clear in so far as the big story here is concerned, which is the very important relationship between India and the United States. We intend to keep working on that. There are elements that you have referred to; on that, our position is very clear. So I'm not going to repeat that again at this forum. But if you want details with regard to that and what the motivation of these things is, what the purpose is, and what ends this is supposed to serve; I think it would be better to direct this question at the people who are directly involved in this.

Manish: Foreign Secretary, Manish Chand, India Writes Network. On the Pact for the Future, how did India shape the outcomes? What is the Indian imprint there? And number two, of all the world leaders who are at the UNGA, Prime Minister chose to speak to the Palestinian leader, as well as to Ukraine's. And in his UNGA address also, there is a lot of emphasis on peace building and peacemaking, you know, preventing conflicts. Is this a conscious effort to project India as a peacemaker, a peace builder, an apostle of peace? What is the narrative here? Thank you.

Ayushi: Sir, good evening. This is Ayushi Agarwal from ANI. I have two questions. During the Indian Prime Minister's meeting with Zelenskyy, was there any discussion on the second Peace Summit, since Zelenskyy had earlier proposed holding a Summit in India? So any discussion on that? Second, was there any request from the Bangladesh's interim government to hold a meeting with the Prime Minister? Thank you.

Yoshita: Thank you. Yoshita Singh with Press Trust of India. I have a question on the UN Security Council reform. The Pact for the Future contains some language on it, which officials here have said is groundbreaking. How does India see the language on UN Security Council reform? Is it satisfied? Does it move the needle a bit, or is it the same language in a new Pact? Thank you.

Sriram: Sriram Lakshman from the Hindu, thank you. One of the questions was, there have been many efforts to reform the UN and especially the Security Council, and they haven't really borne fruit. What is different about this Pact and this Summit? Are you confident? And what gives you this confidence that this is actually going to move things forward on Security Council and UN reform? The second question is about the discussion with President Abbas. How did the discussion around India's abstention vote last week on Israel vacating the occupied territories go? Can you flesh out that discussion for us a little bit? Thank you.

Sarjana: Good evening, sir. I'm Sarjana, Sanmarg se hoon. Vinay Kwatra ji se mera sawal hain ki kal jab community program ke baad bahut saare American-Indians mile hamain, unka ye kehna tha ki humain ummeed thi ki shayad Pradhan Mantri dohri nagrikta ki ghoshna karain aur hamain bahut nirasha hui ki Prime Minister ne is baare mai kuch nahi bola. Dusra unka concern tha ki hum India mei business karna chahte hain, lekin hamain bahut saari problems aati hain, uske baare mai bhi hamain abhi tak koi bahut positive response nahi milta.

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Good evening, sir. I'm Sarjana from Sanmarg. My question to Vinay Kwatra sir is that yesterday, after the community program, we met with many Indian-Americans, and they said they were hoping that the Prime Minister would announce dual citizenship, but they were very disappointed that the Prime Minister did not mention anything about it. Their second concern was that they want to do business in India, but they face many problems, and so far, they have not received any very positive response on that matter as well.

Vishnu: Vishnu from News India Times. Prime Minister announced the opening of two new Consulates in Boston and Los Angeles. Do you have any timelines as to when they'll be inaugurated? Thank you.

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: So, I think on the question related to the Pact for the Future and India's contribution to it, now, we have been involved in the negotiations related to this for the better part of two decades? Yes, I mean, but insofar as the Pact for the Future is concerned, the better part of the last four to six months that we've been involved in it. So there's been a lot of input that has gone into it. One thing, of course, is that, if you would recall that in August this year, the Prime Minister convened the 3rd Voice of the Global South Summit. And that was also an opportunity to hear the concerns of the Global South, because often their voice is not heard on several global platforms; and to see what their concerns were. And it enabled us to formulate our own thinking. And those inputs have gone into not just the Pact for the Future, but also the annex documents related to the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on the Youth as well. So we have contributed to not just the elements related to global governance, transformation of global governance, but also our concerns related to sustainable development, climate change, etc. All of these have figured in the final outcome document. And ours has been one of the most closely involved teams, right till the finalization of the Pact for the Future this morning.

Your question related to the significance of the meeting with President Zelenskyy, and does it sort of burnish our role? So, look, I mean, our voice in support of peace and a path to peace through dialogue and diplomacy is not a new one. It's natural for us to assume this role. And I think the Prime Minister's meeting with President Zelenskyy also reflects his own, in a sense, commitment to this effort. Because he's deeply concerned by this conflict, not just in terms of the human toll that it is taking, something that he has recognized, but also in terms of the toll that it is taking on the world at large, and especially on countries in the Global South. So his meeting with President Zelenskyy demonstrates his commitment to finding a way forward and to contributing in any way possible to a resolution of this conflict.

Ayushi, regarding discussions with President Zelenskyy on a second Peace Summit, as I said, the discussions covered a lot of issues related to the issue of finding a way forward. A number of things came up in this, the Peace Summit that was held in Switzerland, the ideas that have been floated after that, the efforts that Ukraine is making on its own, and the possibility of a second Peace Summit that Ukraine has been talking about. But I think we are not, right now, at a stage where the second Peace Summit can be discussed in any detail. I think there is a lot of work that remains to be done before that. So there was not a great deal of discussion on that specific issue.

I think, you mentioned about the meeting with Bangladesh. As you are aware, the Prime Minister is leaving in a few minutes from now. The Chief Adviser of Bangladesh is not here yet, so there hasn't been any possibility of a meeting on this occasion.

Yoshita, your question... I think, both yours and Shriram's questions are more or less on the same lines as to whether the new language on Security Council reform is something that would give us any conviction or confidence in the possibility of real reform in the governance. I would only point you in the direction of the fact that for the first time, a UN Summit document has a detailed paragraph on UN Security Council reform. So it may not have every single detail in every area that we would imagine or we would like there to be, but I think it's a good beginning. And we look forward eventually to the beginning of text-based negotiations in a fixed time frame going forward. But this should be seen as the first stop towards that objective. And the fact that till now, we haven't really had discussions on the basis of a text, but an agreement at this level in the Pact where it keeps open the possibilities of a reform of the UN system is a gain, from any perspective.

The question related to the meeting with President Abbas of Palestine and his stance, look, as I said, the meeting was a very good meeting. And it gave the opportunity to President Abbas to, in fact, appreciate the stance that India has taken in an overall sense on the Palestine issue. And we have had repeated opportunities in the last several months to express that support on several occasions. Our fundamental position on the Palestine issue remains what it has long been. In the present context, there is much greater urgency related to issues of humanitarian assistance and support, which we have continued to provide and will continue to provide. I want to tell you that President Abbas did explicitly state that he was very appreciative of India's support not just for humanitarian assistance, but also for India's political support to Palestine on the international stage.

Actually, on that question addressed to Ambassador Kwatra and the two new Consulates, I think you are probably best placed to address that as well.

Shri Vinay Kwatra, Ambassador of India to the United States: Thank you very much, Foreign Secretary. Dekhiye jahan tak aapka jo prashn tha ki jo community event hua uske baad ki jo charchayain community ke bich mei hui. Dekhiye, mujhe sangyan nahi hain ke aap community ke event mei upasthit thi ya nahi thi, lekin yadi aap thi jo ki aapke prashna se lagta hain ki thi. Aapne dekha hoga ke community event mei kis prakar ki urja thi, kis prakar ka utsah tha, kis prakar ki umang thi ek prakar se yadi main kahu toh. Toh main aapke vishay vishesh ke baare mei toh tippani nahi karunga kyuki vishay bhartiya samuday jo ki ek parakar se Bhartiya pariwar ki extension hai, woh vishwavyapi hain, vyapak hain, toh unke jo welfare se related issues hain woh bahot saare hain, toh visheshatmak prashno pe tikpani karna shayad uchit nahi hoga. Lekin mool bhaav isme spasht hai, aapne jab Pradhan Mantri ji ka kal vaktavya suna toh, yadi aap vaktavya ka mool bhaav dekhian, uska mool bhaav yahi hai ki Bhartiya pariwar jahan bhi hoga aur unse judne ke liye, unse sahyog, sahkarya, sakaratmak sahyog sehkarya karne ke liye jo bhi karna hoga, kis prakar se woh Bhartiyata ko United States mei ek prakar se United States ki jeevan shaili ka ek prakar se ek abhhin ang sa banate hain karke, woh bhav mool roop se ubhar ke aaya. Aur kitna jo ek prakar se kahun ke kis prakar se ek bahar vishwa mei faila Bhartiya pariwar Bharat se ek prakar se abbhina roop se juda hua hai, woh bhavna, ek prakar se spasht roop se bahar aayi.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] Thank you very much, Foreign Secretary. Look, as far as your question about the discussions within the community after the community event is concerned, I am not aware whether you were present at the community event or not, but from your question, it seems you were. You must have seen the kind of energy, enthusiasm, and excitement that was present at the community event, if I may put in this way. I won't comment on the specific issue you raised because the Indian community, which in a way is an extension of the Indian family, is global and widespread. There are many welfare-related issues concerning them, so it may not be appropriate to comment on specific concerns. But the core sentiment is clear, if you had listened to the Prime Minister's statement yesterday, the key message was that wherever the Indian community is, India will connect with them and work together through positive cooperation and collaboration with them. The idea of how they make Indian culture an integral part of the lifestyle in the United States was clearly emphasized. If I put it in this way, the feeling that the Indian diaspora around the world is inseparably connected to India came out strongly.

Jahan tak ekal nagarikta ka prashna hai, wo aap bhi acchi tarah se janti hain hamare samvidhan mei nihit hain toh us prashna pe baat karne ke liya aur platform hain. Jahan tak, business ki aapne baat ki, dekhiye aapne dekha hoga ke pichle das salon mei, 2014 ke baad Pradhan Mantri Modi ji ki sarkar banne ke baad, tabse lekar ab tak kis prakar ke kadam, jahan tak bharat mei ease of doing business ka jo conceptualization hua, wo Pradhan Mantri Modi ji ne hi kiya tha. Uske baad yadi aap tabse le ke aaj tak dekhain, toh aap payenge ke Bharat mei jo vyavsay, nivesh, vyapar se jude jis prakar ki bhi kanoon vyvastha hain, jis prakar ki bhi sarkari ek aupcharik vyavastha hain usmei kitni saralta aayi hain pichle ek darshak mei, uska jo ek praman hain woh sabko pata hain, lekin ye lagataar prakriya hai, ye prakriya aapne aap mei ek prashna mei nihit nahi hoti. Lekin main sirf itna hi kehna chahunga ke Bharatiya samuday se jude, jis prakar ke, har prakar ke mudde se, Bharatiya dootawas, America mei sthit bharatiya consulates, main toh halaki mera ye adhikrit nahi hai, lekin, pure vishwa mei jahan bhi Bharatiya consulate aur embassy hain, woh bharatiya samuday se har prakar se judte hain aur har prakar se jo unke vichar hain, unke jo vimarsha hain unko hum apne karyo mei sanlagn karte hain. Lekin ekal nagrita ka prashn, wo hamare samvidhan se juda hua hai.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] As far as the question of single citizenship is concerned, you are well aware that it is enshrined in our Constitution, so there are other platforms to discuss that issue. As far as your question on business is concerned, you must have seen that over the past ten years, after Prime Minister Modi's government came into power in 2014, the steps taken, the conceptualization of ease of doing business in India was done by Prime Minister Modi himself. If you look at the period from then to now, you will find that significant improvements have been made in the legal frameworks and government processes related to business, investment, and trade in India over the past decade. This progress is well known to everyone, but it is a continuous process and not confined to one particular question. I would just like to say that the Indian community, and the various issues they face, are always connected with Indian Embassy and Consulates in America; as also with Indian Embassies and Consulates globally, although I am not authorized to speak on it. We always incorporate their concerns and discussions into our functioning. However, the issue of single citizenship is connected to our Constitution."

Dekhiye, jahan tak aapke Consulates ka jo prashan hain (Look, regarding your question on Consulates), in both Los Angeles and Boston; you would recall that... I think it was during the last State visit, that it was announced that two new Consulates will be opened. And Prime Minister made that announcement. You all saw that. And we will now work with the US administration to carry forward the implementation of that decision. Thank you.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: With that, we come to the close of this Special Briefing. Thank you very much.