Modi will meet US President Donald Trump during "official working visit" starting Feb. 12
Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said India has conveyed its "concerns" to the US about the deportation flight that landed in Amritsar on Wednesday in which people were shackled and has told Washington that "this kind of treatment can be avoided"
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet US President Donald Trump during his two-day "official working visit" to the United States from February 12, New Delhi announced on Friday evening. Addressing a press conference ahead of the PM's visit, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said India has conveyed its "concerns" to the US about the deportation flight that landed in Amritsar on Wednesday in which people were shackled and has told Washington that "this kind of treatment can be avoided". Reacting to speculation that India could send its own aircraft to bring back its nationals with dignity, Mr. Misri said India "will consider other alternatives that will be feasible".
Indicating the possibility of more deportation flights, the foreign secretary added that the US has informed New Delhi that there are another "487 presumed Indians with final removal orders". Out of them, Washington has already provided Delhi with details of 298 supposed Indian nationals that it wants to deport and New Delhi is already verifying their nationality.
The foreign secretary told the media that the deportation flight from San Antonio in Texas that landed in Amritsar earlier on Wednesday with 104 Indian nationals on board was "somewhat different" as the US had described it as a "national security operation", which was one of the reasons why military aircraft was used. The US had also made a request to India that this was the "quickest way to do it (deportation)".
In response to a media query on whether there had been any protest in 2012 (before the Modi government assumed office) on the US policy from that year onwards to use "restraints" on board deportation flights, Mr. Misri said, "We have no record of any protest" (by the then Indian government in 2012). He also said deportation flights from the US had operated to India even before 2009.
On the schedule of the Prime Minister's visit to Washington, Mr. Misri said Mr Modi will hold both "restricted and delegation-level talks" with Mr Trump, during which issues such as trade, technology, defence cooperation, counter-terrorism and the Indo-Pacific region will be discussed, including an "intense" discussion likely on trade issues.
The foreign secretary said that the fact that Mr Modi has been invited to visit the US within three weeks of Mr Trump assuming office shows the strength of the India-US relationship and the "bipartisan support" in the US that it enjoys. He said the two leaders have a "close rapport" that dates back to Mr Trump's first term in office (from 2017-20) and that India's ties with the US are among New Delhi's strongest international partnerships.