Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet US President Donald Trump next week on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France. Notably, this would mark
as the two leaders' first in-person bilateral engagement since PM Modi’s visit to the United States in February last year. The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit France and Slovakia from June 13 to 18, where he is expected to hold bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, besides participating in the G7 Summit in Evian, France, on June 16-17. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday, the Prime Minister will engage with G7 leaders, invited partner countries and international organisations during the summit discussions. Without specifying the names of the leaders PM Modi is expected to meet, MEA said, "On the sidelines of the summit, Prime Minister will also hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders." READ MORE: Days Away or Months Off? JD Vance Drops Major Iran Deal Update
PM Modi Likely To Meet Trump
The likely meeting between PM Modi and US President comes amid ongoing engagement between India and the United States on a range of strategic, economic and geopolitical issues. The speculations were fueled after Trump confirmed that he would travel to France to attend the G7 Summit.
During the summit, PM Modi will exchange views with G7 leaders as well as leaders from invited partner countries and international organisations.
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Significance Of Trump-Modi Meet
The meeting comes after India-US ties experienced both cooperation and friction in recent months. Trump first imposed tariffs on Indian exports and later raised them to 50 percent over India's continued purchases of Russian oil. During last year's India-Pakistan conflict, Trump repeatedly claimed credit for helping prevent what he described as a potential "nuclear war" between the two neighbours. In fact, when PM Modi visited Beijing last year, Trump remarked that it appeared the United States had “lost India to China".Despite these tensions, the two leaders have remained in touch through multiple phone conversations in recent months.
The bilateral ties between the two countries have shown signs of improvement following the visit of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to India last month. During the visit, Rubio briefed PM Modi on progress in key areas of cooperation, including defence, strategic technologies, trade and investment, energy security, connectivity, education, and people-to-people exchanges.
India and the United States are also moving closer to finalising a bilateral trade agreement. A US delegation visited India in the first week of June for talks with Indian counterparts.
