New Delhi: There is a possibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting US President Donald Trump in Kuala Lumpur at the end of October.
Modi is scheduled to travel to the Malaysian capital for the 47th ASEAN Summit on October 26 and 27.
An invitation has also been extended to Trump to attend the summit. If the US President confirms his participation, the two leaders could come face-to-face for the first time since the Trump administration imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India.
Modi and Trump were due to meet on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada in June, but the American President left before Modi’s arrival.
Indo-US bilateral relations have been strained over the last three-four months. The US first imposed 25% global tariffs on Indian exports, and then an additional 25% penal tax for purchasing Russian oil.
Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for ‘ending India-Pakistan war’ even as New Delhi denied any third-party mediation in the ceasefire agreement between DGMOs of both nations on May 10.
Trump and his aides have also been openly slamming India for continuing to buy oil from Russia, warning that such purchases weaken international efforts to pressure Moscow into ending the war in Ukraine.
Peter Navarro, a senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing to Trump, went to the extent of calling the three-and-a-half-year Russia-Ukraine conflict “Modi’s war” and accused India of profiteering through its refineries, dubbing the country a “laundromat” for Russian oil.
Again, all these have had no effect on India’s policies, with the government saying it’s their prerogative to decide whom to do business with.
There have been signs of a thaw in recent weeks. Bilateral trade talks which had halted have resumed, and both Trump and Modi have acknowledged the mutual rapport and friendship, as well as the two nations’ close ties.
