Seoul: US president Donald Trump heaped praise on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yet again on Wednesday, going as far as calling him a father figure.
More importantly, Trump said that a trade agreement between the US and India is imminent.
The US president was at the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia recently but did not bring up the topic of India or any trade deal there. Modi skipped the summit in Malaysia to avoid meeting Trump, reports suggest.
However, while speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in South Korea on Wednesday, Trump said: “Going to do a trade deal with India soon.”
“I have great respect for Prime Minister Modi,” he said while addressing delegates at the summit.
The 79-year-old US president went on to describe 75-year-old Modi “a very good-looking man” who is “like a father figure.”
“He’s a killer, he’s tough as hell,” Trump said, referring to Modi.
India is keen to wind-up trade negotiations with the US soon, but not at the cost of national interest. Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal has recently said that India is actively negotiating trade pacts with the EU and the US, but will not do anything with a “pistol held to its head”.
Trump reached South Korea on Wednesday ahead of high-stakes meetings with Chinese president Xi Jinping and South Korean president Lee Jae Myung on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the southeastern city of Gyeongju.
