Diplomats from India and the US are working to set up a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump in February.
Reuters, citing two Indian sources familiar with the discussions, reported that the officials are trying to arrange the meeting in Washington.
India, a strategic partner of the United States in countering China’s influence, is eager to strengthen trade relations with the US. This is expected to be on the agenda when the two leaders meet.
Since Trump has pledged a crackdown on illegal immigration but has said he is open to legal migration of skilled workers, migration would be another area of discussion.
India accounts for the bulk of the skilled worker H-1B visas issued by the US.
Since Trump’s election, there have been among officials in New Delhi about his policies once he returns to the White House. He has identified India as one of the countries with high tariffs on US products and has suggested that he favours imposing reciprocal tariffs in response.
However, sources said that New Delhi was willing to offer some concessions to Washington– although it has not been officially informed of any plans by US to impose reciprocal tariffs.
India is also open to offer incentives to attract more US investment into the country.
Presently, the US is India’s largest trading partner. In 2023-24, the bilateral trade between the nations crossed $118 billion. That year, India had posted a trade surplus of $32 billion– a figure that may not be sitting well with Trump’s ‘America first’ rhetoric.
An early meeting between PM Modi and President Trump, officials hope, will help get ties off to a positive start.
With inputs from agencies
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Modi-Trump meeting next month in Washington? Indian, US diplomats working out a plan, says report
