India on Friday said it is working with the US on an ”early” visit to Washington by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to further deepen the comprehensive global strategic partnership between the two countries.
It would be Modi’s first bilateral visit to Washington after Trump became US president for a second term. While confirming discussions between India and the US on the proposed visit, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal did not mention any possible time-line for the trip.
In their phone conversation on January 27, Modi and Trump vowed to work towards a ”trusted” partnership with a focus on boosting India-US cooperation in areas of trade, energy and defence.
”PM Modi and President Trump had a telephone conversation recently. The two sides are working on an early visit of the PM to the US to further deepen India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership,” Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing while replying to a question.
”Specific dates for the visit would be announced at the appropriate time,” he said.
It is learnt that both sides were initially looking at the window between February 12-14 for Modi’s visit but there has been no finality on it yet.
The prime minister is set to travel to Paris to attend the Artificial Intelligence Action summit on February 10 and 11. Though the US president has also been invited to the summit, his participation is not yet confirmed.
If Modi’s visit takes place in February, then he will be among very few leaders to travel to Washington on a bilateral visit within weeks after the Trump administration came to power for the second term.
Like in many countries, there have been some concerns in India as well over the US President’s approach on immigration and tariff.
He has already talked about slapping ”100 per cent tariffs” on the BRICS grouping, a bloc that includes India too.
”India is firmly opposed to illegal migration, especially as it is also linked to other forms of organised crime,” Jaiswal said.
”As part of India-US cooperation on migration and mobility, both sides are engaged in a process to deter illegal migration, while also creating more avenues for legal migration from India to the US,” he said.
Jaiswal said India is keen to continue this cooperation.
”At the same time, the government of India would need to do the required verification, including nationality, of the concerned individuals, before they are deported to India,” he said.
”Any talk of numbers at this stage is premature. But I do want to emphasize that cooperation between India and the US is strong and effective in this domain. This will be evident in times to come,” Jaiswal added.
India, a strategic partner of the United States in its efforts to counter China, is keen to enhance trade relations with the U.S. and make it easier for its citizens to get skilled worker visas, two topics that will be on the agenda if the leaders meet, according to media reports.
Trump visited India in February 2020 during his previous term in office. Then, he was cheered by more than 100,000 Indians at a cricket stadium in Modi’s political homeland in Ahmedabad, where he promised India “an incredible trade deal”.
In 2019, Trump held a “Howdy Modi” rally with Modi in Houston, drawing 50,000 people, mainly Indian Americans.
Other topics of discussion between the two leaders would be enhancing partnerships in technology and defence, according to reports.
Migration would be another area of discussion, as Trump has pledged a crackdown on illegal immigration but has said he is open to legal migration of skilled workers.
India, known for its massive pool of IT professionals, many of whom work across the world, accounts for the bulk of the skilled worker H-1B visas issued by the United States.
With inputs from agencies
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India, US working on dates for PM Modi’s early visit to US: MEA
