US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi showered praises on each other in a full display of bonhomie between the two leaders during a meeting that also saw discussion on trade tariffs, energy and defence deals and the strengthening of bilateral partnership.
At his Oval Office in the White House 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.
“It’s a great honour to have Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is a great friend of mine for a long time, we have had a wonderful relationship, we kept the friendship going during the four years. Very interesting period when I got to watch and learn to do things. We have started up again. We have very big things to talk about,” Trump said in his first remarks.
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“He has been doing a great job in India, everyone talks about it, he is doing a really fantastic job and is a great leader,” Trump said on Modi.
PM Modi conveyed his congratulations on Trump’s 2024 Presidential election victory. “I am delighted to see you back in the White House and meet with you today in this room. On behalf of 1.4 billion people of my country, let me convey my heartiest congratulations to you on your grand and historic victory.”
Modi further said,” President Trump like a friend reminded me of Ahmedabad and the cricket stadium where we did the Namaste Trump mega event and similarly Howdy Modi in Houston. It conveyed a very strong message of our friendship. A resounding echo of those events can be heard in India and the world.”
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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.
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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.
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.
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.
The bilateral trade between India and the US was around $ 130 billion last year.
With PTI inputsDiscover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
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