Obama to Host India’s Modi

U.S. President Barack Obama will welcome India’s new prime minister, Narendra Modi, to the White House for a Sept. 29-30 visit aimed at repairing frayed relations between their countries.

The Obama administration announced the visit Monday, saying the leaders will discuss economic and security issues, as well as developments in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

 

The trip will be the first time Modi has been able to enter the U.S. since he was denied a visa in 2005. That decision was based on a U.S. law that bars foreign officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom.

Modi was chief minister of the western state of Gujarat when religious riots there killed as many as 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, in 2002.  He has denied any wrongdoing in connection with the riots, and a court in India last year ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him.

Modi was elected prime minister in May.

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