Donald Trump was sworn in as US President on Monday (January 20). Since then, there has been speculation, when is the meeting of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Trump. According to Reuters, the diplomats of both countries are trying to arrange a meeting between the two leaders.
Citing sources, Reuters reported that the meeting may take place in February. According to the Economic Times report, the first meeting between Modi and Trump may take place in mid-February in Paris.
A meeting between the two leaders is likely on the sidelines of the Artificial Intelligence Summit in Paris. However, if Trump does not participate in this summit in Paris, then the Indian Prime Minister can visit the United States in February. However, no date has been finalized yet. India is a strategic partner of the US to counter China. Sources told Reuters that New Delhi is interested in increasing trade relations with the United States during the Trump administration. Also, India wants to make it easier for its citizens to get US skilled worker visas. These two issues will be discussed when the two leaders meet.
Reuters also reported that the Quad’s annual summit will be held in India later this year. Then the leaders of Quad i.e. India, Australia, Japan and USA will be present in India. A bilateral meeting between Modi and Trump during the summit was already a possibility. Trump visited India in February 2020 during his first term. At that time, more than 100,000 people gathered at a cricket stadium in Modi’s hometown Ahmedabad to watch Trump. There, Trump promised India a huge trade deal. Earlier, Trump-Modi participated in a procession together in Houston, Texas, USA in 2019. Around 50,000 people took part in the procession called ‘Howdy Modi’. Most of them were US citizens of Indian origin.
According to the source, Reuters also reported that increasing the partnership in the technology and defense sectors is one of the other issues that may be discussed in the possible meeting between Trump and Modi.