PM Modi, Trump Discuss Trade, Defence and Strategic Ties in First Call Since April

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with US President Donald Trump in their first phone conversation since the American president signed legislation authorising tariffs of up to 100 per cent on countries purchasing Russian oil and gas, including India and China.

This was Modi’s first conversation with Trump since April, when the two leaders spoke following an agreement on a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran amid the war in West Asia.

“Had a productive conversation with President Trump. We reviewed our bilateral cooperation in trade, defence, energy, critical technologies and other areas. We agreed to maintain close engagement to take our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership forward,” PM Modi said after the conversation.

“We also exchanged views on regional and international issues, including ongoing efforts to advance global peace and security,” he added.

Leaders Review Progress in Bilateral Cooperation

According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the two leaders reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation across trade, defence, energy, critical technologies and other areas of mutual interest.

The statement said:

“They reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and agreed to maintain close engagement to deepen cooperation for the benefit of the people of both countries.”

It added that the leaders exchanged views on regional and international developments and discussed ongoing efforts to promote global peace and security.

“Both leaders agreed to remain in touch,” the statement said.

PM Modi is expected to travel to the United States for the G20 leaders’ summit in December this year. Before that, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to visit India during the third week of October.

The conversation took place a day after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar highlighted the complexity of India-US trade negotiations, saying that both sides had reached a point where there was “more or less an understanding on the trade agreement.”

Jaishankar Flags Pakistan-Based Terrorism as Key Concern

Jaishankar identified terrorism emanating from Pakistan as one of India’s primary concerns, adding that a lack of understanding or appreciation of the issue in Washington could affect Delhi’s relationship with the US.

Jaishankar addressed the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York on Monday, following a week of engagements at the UN General Assembly.

Regarding India-US trade negotiations, Jaishankar highlighted the stakes and complexity involved.

“Bear in mind, India is a society of small producers, small agriculture producers, small factories. Apart from the per capita gap between India and the United States, the nature of production, nature of society is very different,” he said.

He also highlighted the challenges involved in concluding the trade agreement, saying that expectations of rapid progress had been tested against a more complex ground reality.

“Today, we have reached a situation where there is more or less an understanding on the trade agreement,” he added.

On Pakistan, Jaishankar said:

“What for us in India is particularly important is the issue of terrorism. That we feel that... as a country perhaps there are very few countries which have been subjected to the kind of terrorism that we have from a neighbour as part of a deliberate, conscious policy over many, many decades.”

He further said:

“Now, if something which matters so deeply to us, there isn’t enough understanding or appreciation or empathy of that, I think that creates a problem too.”

Jaishankar added that if one of India’s primary concerns was not fully appreciated by its partner, it would have an impact on the relationship, referring to India-US ties.