WASHINGTON, July 26 � Now that US President Barack Obama has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House, the visa issue associated with him is a thing of past, a top American official has said, reports PTI.
Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing on Thursday that the Obama Administration is looking forward to welcoming Modi in Washington in September.
�When the President invited Prime Minister Modi and welcomed him to come to the United States, that he did so knowing that a visa would be granted for him to be able to do that, and we look forward to that,� she said.
�I think that we have always made clear for any individual that visa issues are determined on a case-by-case basis. That is not unique to the situation with the Prime Minister, but we look forward to welcoming (Modi),� she said.
When Congressman George Holding pointed out that Modi was the only individual ever to be denied a visa under a particular clause, Biswal said while it occurred in 2005, since then there has been no application and there has been no review or determination. �So there has been no hypothetical basis on which to make a determination, but we have definitively said that we welcome the visit of the Prime Minister and therefore we don�t believe that there is any further issue to be addressed with respect to that,� Biswal said.
�The administration is very much looking ahead, looking forward and looking to the future in terms of building a very strong partnership with the Prime Minister and with his team and strengthening the relationship between the US and India,� she said.
