Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for years barred from visiting the United States, will meet President Barack Obama in two days of White House talks at the end of the month.
The meetings, on September 29 and 30, will take place on Modi´s first visit to Washington since he led his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a crushing victory in May´s elections.
Modi was told in 2005 by the administration of president George W. Bush that he would be refused a visa to visit the United States, after being accused of not intervening to stop riots by Hindu extremists against minority Muslims when he was chief minister of Gujarat state.
He has denied doing anything wrong during the 2002 riots.
“The two leaders will discuss a range of issues of mutual interest in order to expand and deepen the US-India strategic partnership,” said a White House statement.
“They will discuss ways to accelerate economic growth, bolster security cooperation, and collaborate in activities that bring long-term benefits to both countries and the world”.
