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 armored 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 percent tariff on global steel and aluminum imports into the US. The move is expected to hit the Indian firms exporting steel and aluminum 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.
