White House Week

This week, President Obama and the First Lady travelled to India, their first time visting the South Asian nation since Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in on May 26, 2014.

The President and the Prime Minister of India welcomed President Obama as the chief guest at India's 66th Republic Day celebrations -- a day that honors when India's constitution officially went into effect. President Obama is the first U.S. president to attend this historic event.

President Barack Obama speaks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Republic Day Parade at the Rajpath saluting base in New Delhi, India. January 26, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The President and Prime Minister Modi also pledged to enhance U.S.-Indian cooperation on mutual climate and clean energy goals. From the highly successful U.S.-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE) umbrella program to technical work on emerging technologies, the U.S. and India made important progress on combating climate change.

The agreements include:

• Enhancing bilateral climate change cooperation to achieve a successful and ambition agreement in Paris this year.
• Cooperating on Hydroflurocarbons to make concrete progress in the Montreal Protocol this year
• Expanding PACE-R, the U.S.-India Joint Clean Energy Reserach and Development Center, to extend funding for research on solar energy, energy efficiency, and advanced biofuels. 
• Launching air quality cooperation to help urban residents reduce their exposure to harmful levels of air pollution. 

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama wave to the crowd at the Rajpath saluting base following the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi, India. January 26, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)