New Delhi, June 24 (FN Bureau) Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has termed the Prime Minister’s visit to the US as “historic” and said it forms a major milestone in India-US relations.Addressing a press conference here at Party headquarters, he said, “When the Prime Minister went on America tour for the first time, India was the 10th largest economy in the world and today Indiahas become the 5th largest economy in the world” Talking about the other initiative and agreements taken during the PM’s visit to US, Puri said, “Both the countries elevated their strategic partnership through announcing the iCET, that is initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology”.
“Also, NASA and ISRO will develop a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation by 2023” he added.Over the address of Modi in the US Congress, the Union Minister said that “His address to the Joint Session of the US Congress, and the representatives there asking for PM Modi’s autograph standas a testament to his stature as a world leader.” “Only a few people from around the world addressed a joint session of the US Congress. If we lookat history, Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill did it,” he said. “If a bilateral visit comprising a critical definition produces a new dawn, it is that very visit! This visit, in a way, sums up as ‘This is the moment,” he added.