Washington: While ending his four-day US visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is an astute politician, left behind a gift for his host, President Joe Biden: a resounding endorsement.

“Over the last three days, we have been together continuously,” Modi said on Friday in his address to a packed auditorium of Indian-Americans who had travelled from all over the US.

Modi was at the White House for a private dinner on Wednesday, the day he arrived here from New York, and the whole of next morning, starting with a ceremonial reception, which was followed by bilateral talks and a new conference where they both took questions from reporters.

“We have had frank discussions over a whole host of issues, and I say this from experience that he is a ‘suljhe hue anubhavi neta’,” Modi said using a colloquial Hindi phrase that roughly translates to “he is a wise and experienced leader”.

The comment was greeted with loud applause.

“Bharat, American partnership ko ek nai uchai per le janey wale, wyaktigat roop se, unka bahut prayas raha hai aur mein, sarwajank roop se, unke in prayason ki sarahan karta hoon,” the Prime Minister pressed on in Hindi about his personal impression of the US President based on their many meetings in private and public over the past few days.

That would translate roughly to: “He (President Biden) has been personally responsible for driving the India-US relationship to new heights and I publicly commend him for his efforts.”

The Prime Minister is very popular in the Indian American community and he has sought to cultivate this constituency as a pillar of the broader relationship between the two countries.(IANS)