NEW YORK: Indian American Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed issues related to economic development of her state in sectors including automotive, IT and aerospace.

Modi is the first foreign leader that Haley has met after becoming the Governor of the State in 2011. She is seeking her re-election in November.

According to the Governor’s Office, she discussed a range of issues with Modi, which included automotive, information technology and aerospace economic development; and workforce training in high schools.

Haley, who is planning to take a trade delegation to India in November also talked about the possible partnerships between South Carolina and India.

“We had an exciting meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning. We look forward to building our partnership between South Carolina and India!” Haley wrote on the Facebook page soon after meeting Modi.

The Prime Minister also tweeted about his meeting with Haley and invited her to India.

Haley is the first woman to serve as Governor of South Carolina. At the age of 42, she is the youngest Governor in the U.S.

She is one of two sitting Indian-American Governors in the U.S., the other being Republican Bobby Jindal of Louisiana.

She is also one of the Republican Party’s most promising rising stars.

Haley is also the third person, who is not Euro-American to have been elected as governor of a Southern state, after Virginia’s L Douglas Wilder and Louisiana’s Jindal.

Modi met Haley hours before his speech at the Madison Square Garden here.