PM Modi to Meet Trump; Talks Likely on Illegal Indian Immigrants in US
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu)- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the US on an official visit on February 12 and 13. This will be PM Modi's first visit to the US after the start of US President Donald Trump's second term. The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday described this visit as an important occasion for India-US relations.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that this visit will be extremely valuable for discussing mutual interests of the two countries. He also informed that Prime Minister Modi is among the first world leaders to be invited by the US after Trump's re-election as President. This reflects the strength of the India-US partnership. During the visit, Prime Minister Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with President Trump, in which various issues will be discussed in detail in the presence of senior officials of both countries. Apart from this, PM Modi will also meet senior officials of the US administration, business leaders and members of the Indian community.
Foreign Secretary Misri said that relations between India and the US have grown significantly in recent years. This visit is an attempt to further advance the India-US partnership. He recalled that Prime Minister Modi visited the US in 2017 and 2019 [during Trump's first term] and was among the first leaders to congratulate Trump after his re-election. The Prime Minister had called him after Trump's swearing-in and expressed his desire to meet soon, which is now being fulfilled. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar attended President Trump's swearing-in ceremony in Washington last month and met the new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio there. Apart from this, he also met the new US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who has previously been a member of the US Congress.
On Thursday evening, the first phone conversation also took place between India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and America's new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. In this conversation, the two countries discussed strengthening defense cooperation and maintaining peace in the Indo-Pacific region. The US Defense Department issued a statement regarding this conversation, stating that both the countries have agreed to further defense technology and industrial cooperation. Apart from this, the US and India will work to prepare for the 2 + 2 ministerial dialogue to be held this year and finalize the new framework of defense cooperation for the next 10 years.