US President Donald Trump on Thursday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi “a great man” and “a friend” and suggested he may visit India next year to further strengthen trade ties between the two countries.
US New Trade Deal to India
Speaking to reporters at the White House following the announcement of a new deal to lower prices of weight loss drugs, Trump said his discussions with Modi were “going great.”
“He largely stopped buying from Russia. And he is a friend of mine, and we speak. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a great man. He is a friend of mine, and we speak, and he wants me to go there. We will figure that out; I will go. Prime Minister Modi is a great man, and I will be going.
When specifically asked about his plans to go to India next year, Trump said, “It could be, yes.”
The comments come amid the ongoing trade negotiations between India and the United States following Washington’s decision to impose 50 percent tariffs, including an additional 25 percent duty, over India’s continued purchase of Russian oil.
A shift in US-India Ties?
This development marks a shift from an August report in The New York Times that said the US president did not plan to visit India for the Quad summit later this year following Washington’s imposition of tariffs on India.
The report, which cited sources familiar with the US President’s schedule, was headlined ‘The Nobel Prize and a Testy Phone Call: How the Trump-Modi Relationship Unraveled.’
“Mr. Modi, who once called Mr. Trump “a true friend,” was officially on the outs. After telling Mr. Modi that he would travel to India later this year for the Quad summit, Mr. Trump no longer has plans to visit in the fall, according to people familiar with the president’s schedule,” reported the NYT.
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Trump on Russian oil and Tariffs on India
Trump spoke of his talks with PM Modi and a potential visit during a press briefing at the White House, where a new initiative to reduce the cost of popular weight loss drugs across the US was announced.
“During the Most Favored Nations Oval Office Announcement, a representative with one of the companies fainted.
The White House Medical Unit quickly jumped into action, and the gentleman is ok. The press conference will resume shortly,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Trump’s remarks come in the backdrop of ongoing trade negotiations between India and the US after Washington slapped a 50 percent tariff, including 25 percent additional duties, over India’s continued purchase of Russian oil.
Reiterating Trump’s commitment to strengthening ties with India, Leavitt said, “The President is positive and feels very strongly about the India-US relationship. He spoke directly with the Prime Minister a few weeks ago when he celebrated Diwali in the Oval Office with many high-ranking Indian-American officials here at the White House.”
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