Barack Obama at HT Leadership Summit 2017 - Key points

New Delhi : Former US president Barack Obama on Friday attended Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in Delhi. While sharing his views on India's relationship with the United States, Mr. President was all praise for Narendra Modi and India's former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Here are key statements from his interaction with Karan Thapar.

1: "If India and the United States are working together, I believe there is no problem we cannot solve."

2: Obama explained to Karan Thapar that the night before the waiter who served him daal, among other dishes, began explaining how daal was made. Obama said he told him that he need not do so, since he knew how to make daal and had his own recipe learnt from his Indian roommate when he was a student.

3: "Technology is bridging the gap in the developing world. More and more people are being connected via devices but there is a dangerous side to this sudden spurt of technology. Various online platforms are now feeding people with bad news."

4: "A country shouldn't be divided on sectarian lines and that is something I have told Prime Minister Modi in person as well as to people in America...People see the differences between each other much too vividly and miss the commonalities. Commonalities are always based on gender and we need to focus on that."

5: "(Manmohan) Singh was the primary partner while we were working during the financial meltdown (of 2008)."

6: "I have many more followers on Twitter than those who use the social media tool more often. We should be mindful of the power the social media tools have and must post after weighing thoughts carefully."