New Delhi: Indian and US officials are reportedly trying to arrange a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, next month. Sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters news agency that an early meeting between the two would help get ties off to a positive start in Trump's new term.
India is keen to enhance trade relations with the US and make it easier for its citizens to get skilled worker visas. Trump's return to the White House has raised worries among officials in New Delhi about the imposition of tariffs on India.
New Delhi was reportedly willing to offer some concessions to Washington and was also open to offering incentives to attract more US investment in India. Trump visited India in February 2020 during his previous term in office. He was cheered by more than 100,000 Indians at a cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, where he promised India "an incredible trade deal". In 2019, Trump held a "Howdy Modi" rally with Modi in Houston, drawing 50,000 people, mainly Indian Americans.
Preparing the groundwork for the Modi-Trump meeting is also on the agenda of Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, who attended Trump's inauguration and met US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
The US is India's largest trading partner and two-way trade between the two countries surpassed $118 billion in 2023-24, with India posting a trade surplus of $32 billion. India accounts for the bulk of skilled workers' H-1B visas issued by the United States.
According to reports, migration would be another area of discussion, as Trump has pledged a crackdown on illegal immigration but has said he is open to legal migration of skilled workers.
India-US ties to be bolder, bigger: JaishankarWashington: Upbeat about the future of India-US ties, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said clearly there is an interest in the new Trump Administration in taking this relationship forward. The minister, who attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration and related events as a special envoy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, met Secretary of State Marco Rubio for a Quad ministerial and bilateral interaction and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz for the second time since their first meeting last December. ‘“Obviously we had essentially a broad brush conversation. Didn't get too deep into details, but there was, I think, an agreement, a consensus between us that we need to be bolder, we need to be bigger, we need to be more ambitious,” he said. Speaking of his broad impressions from the meetings, he said, “Firstly, it was very clear that the Trump administration was keen to have India's presence at the inauguration, and they were “clearly prioritizing the bilateral relationship.” “Secondly, it was also evident that they would like to build on the foundation of the relationship, the foundation to which the first Trump administration also contributed a lot to the building,” he said. |
