PM Modi to be first world leader to have White House dinner with Donald Trump

WASHINGTON: Seeking to "roll out a red carpet welcome" to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump would host him for a working dinner at the White House on Monday, the first of its kind under this administration.

"The White House is very interested in making this a special visit. We're really seeking to roll out the red carpet. In fact, the two (leaders) will have dinner, a working dinner at the White House.

This will be the first dinner for a foreign dignitary at the White House under this administration. So, we think that's very significant," a senior administration official told reporters at the White House on the eve of Modi's arrival.

Modi arrives in the US Capitol tonight on a three-day visit during which he would have a meeting with Trump at the White House.

During the meetings, the American side would be represented by top leaders including the Vice President Mike Pence, the National Security Advisor, Lt. Gen. H R McMaster, and the Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary James Mattis, the Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The Modi trip, the official said is an opportunity to strengthen the US-India strategic partnership, which Trump very much views as a critical partnership in promoting stability and security in the Asia Pacific region and globally.

The Trump Administration, the official said, believes that defence trade strengthens both the countries' security, it reinforces the strategic partnership, and it allows their armed forces to cooperate more closely and improve their interaction with one another.

Observing that this defence trade has supported thousands of American jobs, the official said since 2008, India has signed over USD 15 billion in defence contracts with the US.