Washington- Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with US President Donald Trump at the White House amid expectations of a raft of specific outcomes including firming up of a new defence framework and boosting cooperation in areas of trade, energy and critical technology.
At his Oval Office, Trump welcomed Modi with a warm hug before settling down for the crucial talks, hours after the American President announced a new reciprocal tariff policy for all the trading partners of the US.
While announcing the new tariff policy, the President also spoke about how India is “right at the top of the pack” when it comes to tariffs.
Before meeting Trump, the Indian prime minister held separate talks with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, billionaire Elon Musk and Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy.
Modi kicked off his two-day visit to Washington DC on Wednesday evening (Thursday morning India time) after concluding his trip to France.
Ahead of the Modi-Trump meeting, diplomatic sources indicated that the focus of the talks will be on enhancing cooperation in areas of defence, energy, technology, infrastructure and trade.
The Trump administration is particularly keen on expanding Washington’s defence sales to India and the two sides may broadly finalise a couple of deals including co-production of Stryker armoured fighting vehicles in India.
Besides defence, trade is set to be a high priority area in the deliberations between the two leaders. The reciprocal tariff policy is expected to have some impact on India’s trade with US also.
Two days back, Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on global steel and aluminium imports into the US. The move is expected to hit the Indian firms exporting steel and aluminium to the US.
India has already indicated its readiness to adopt a more conciliatory approach on the sensitive issue unlike its hardline approach during Trump’s first term.
People closely tracking India-US ties said there is a possibility of both sides exploring the option of looking at a trade pact to avoid high tariffs and expand the overall trade basket.
The bilateral trade between India and the US was around USD 130 billion last year.
The prime minister’s visit to the American capital comes days after the Trump administration deported 104 Indians in handcuffs and shackles in a military aircraft that sparked outrage in India.
Last week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Parliament that New Delhi is in touch with the US to ensure that returning Indian deportees are not mistreated in any manner.
Trump indicates ‘wonderful trade deals’ for India & US ahead of talks with Modi
US President Donald Trump announced plans to firm up “some wonderful trade deals” for India and the US as he hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for wide-ranging talks focussing on charting a new pathway for broadening the bilateral partnership, including in the areas of defence, energy, and critical technology.
At his Oval Office on Thursday, Trump welcomed Modi with a long handshake and a warm hug while describing the prime minister as a “great friend” for a long time.
The two leaders made brief statements to the media and answered a number of questions before settling down for the crucial talks, hours after the American President announced a new reciprocal tariff policy for all the trading partners of the US.
“We are going to work with India also. We have separate big trade deals to announce in the very near future,” Trump said while talking about his administration’s trade policy.
“We are going to make some wonderful trade deals for India and for the US,” he said replying to a question.
In his remarks, Modi congratulated Trump for becoming the president for a second term and recalled the upward trajectory of India-US relations during the American leader’s first stint at the White House.
“I firmly believe that in your second term, we will work with more speed,” Modi said.
“President Trump always keeps the national interest of the US supreme and like him, I also keep the national interest of India at top of everything else,” he added.
In his remarks, the US President said: “We have some very big things to talk about; they (India) are going to be purchasing a lot of our oil and gas (from the US).”
“We have more oil and gas than any other country in the world and they (India) need it, and we have it,” he said.
“He is doing a great job in India and he (PM Modi) and I share a great friendship and we will continue to build on ties between our nations,” Trump added.
The Prime Minister and the President also answered questions on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“I support Donald Trump’s efforts towards finding a possible solution to end the war. The world somehow feels India has been neutral during the war. But I would like to reiterate that India has not been neutral. In fact, India has been on the side of peace,” Modi said.
“When I met President Putin, I had even said that ‘this is not the era for war’. I had also said that solutions cannot be found in the battlefield. They can only come when all parties sit at the table for dialogue,” he added.
Before meeting Trump, Prime Minister Modi held separate talks with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, billionaire Elon Musk and Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy.
Modi kicked off his two-day visit to Washington DC on Wednesday evening (Thursday morning India time) after concluding his trip to France.
Ahead of the Modi-Trump meeting, diplomatic sources indicated that the focus of the talks will be on enhancing cooperation in areas of defence, energy, technology, infrastructure, and trade.
The Trump administration is particularly keen on expanding Washington’s defence sales to India and the two sides may broadly finalise a couple of deals, including co-production of Stryker armoured fighting vehicles in India.
Besides defence, trade is another high priority area in the deliberations between the two leaders. The reciprocal tariff policy is expected to have some impact on India’s trade with US also.
Two days back, Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on global steel and aluminium imports into the US. The move is expected to hit the Indian firms exporting steel and aluminium to the US.
India has already indicated its readiness to adopt a more conciliatory approach on the sensitive issue unlike its hardline approach during Trump’s first term.
People closely tracking India-US ties said there is a possibility of both sides exploring the option of looking at a trade pact to avoid high tariffs and expand the overall trade basket.
The bilateral trade between India and the US was around USD 130 billion last year.
The prime minister’s visit to the American capital comes days after the Trump administration deported 104 Indians in handcuffs and shackles in a military aircraft that sparked outrage in India.
Last week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Parliament that New Delhi is in touch with the US to ensure that returning Indian deportees are not mistreated in any manner.
PM Modi, President Trump agree to move forward on India-US civil nuclear cooperation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump vowed to move forward to facilitate building American-designed nuclear reactors in India under the framework of the epochal civil nuclear deal sealed by the two nations over 16 years back.
In their talks at the White House on Thursday, the two leaders decided to significantly expand energy cooperation.
The civil nuclear deal changed India’s overall engagement with the US as it paved the way for building the bonds of a strategic partnership, especially in areas of high technology and defence.
“The leaders announced their commitment to fully realise the US-India 123 Civil Nuclear Agreement by moving forward with plans to work together to build US-designed nuclear reactors in India through large-scale localisation and possible technology transfer,” according to a joint statement.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union budget on February 1, announced plans to amend India’s nuclear liability law as well as the Atomic Energy Act.
Certain clauses in India’s Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 have emerged as hurdles in moving forward in the implementation of the civil nuclear deal.
Both sides welcomed the recent budget announcement by the government of India to take up amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA) for nuclear reactors, the statement said.
It said the two sides further decided to establish bilateral arrangements in accordance with CLNDA, that would address the issue of civil liability and facilitate the collaboration of Indian and US industry in the production and deployment of nuclear reactors.
The Atomic Energy Act of 1962 prohibits investments by the private sector in nuclear power plants. The proposed amendment is expected to remove this provision.
In January, the US removed restrictions on Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC), Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Centre (IGCAR) and the Indian Rare Earths (IRE), a move that was seen as Washington’s intent to move forward on civil nuclear cooperation with India.
India and the US unveiled an ambitious plan to cooperate in civil nuclear energy in July 2005 following then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with American President George W Bush.
The historic civil nuclear agreement was finally sealed around three years later following a series of negotiations.
It was expected to pave the way for allowing the US to share civilian nuclear technology with India.
However, the planned cooperation did not move forward for a variety of reasons including the strict liability laws in India.
US nuclear reactor makers such as General Electric and Westinghouse had shown keen interest in setting up nuclear reactors in India.
In the last few years, India has been in talks with a number of countries including the US and France on cooperation in small modular reactors (SMRs).
President Trump’s warm gestures for PM Modi mark their meeting
The talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Donald Trump in Washington were marked by the US president’s generous praise of the Indian leader and his consideration of India’s stance on several issues, officials said on Friday.
They noted that not only did Trump announce the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, an accused in the 2008 terror attacks, but also expressed solidarity with India in fighting radical Islamic terrorism together.
Speaking at a joint press meet with Modi, Trump said that the USA was handing over a violent man to India and assured of more action.
The officials added that despite his hawkish stand on tariffs, Trump displayed a “softer” side for India by noting that it is alone not responsible for the trade practices which he believes harm the US business.
Trump described Modi as a friend for a long time and said in reply to a question, “He is a much tougher negotiator than me, and he is a much better negotiator than me. There is not even a contest.”
The warm chemistry between the two leaders was tangible as Trump said Modi is doing a great job in India.
He added, “Everybody talks about him. He’s doing a really fantastic job. He’s a great leader.”
Welcoming the prime minister at the White House with a warm hug, he said, “We missed you a lot.”
President Trump wrote in the book ‘Our Journey Together’, which he presented to Modi, “Mr Prime Minister, You Are Great”, the officials noted.
Trump said he was thrilled to welcome “my friend PM Modi”. He is a special man, the US president said.
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