Just four days after his inauguration, US President Donald Trump has heaped praise on India, calling it a “true friend and partner” and extending Prime Minister Narendra Modi an invitation to visit the United States later this year. In a late night telephone conversation on Tuesday, the two leaders vowed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the global fight against terrorism. They also discussed opportunities to strengthen US-India economic partnership and Defence relations, a White House statement said.
“Had a warm conversation with President @realDonaldTrump late last evening,” the Prime Minister tweeted. Modi said it was a “warm conversation” during which they both “agreed to work closely in the coming days to further strengthen our bilateral ties”, adding, “Have also invited President Trump to visit India.”
In a sign of the level of importance he attaches to India, Trump, who even during his campaign had termed the country “a key strategic ally”, chose to call Modi ahead of conversations with many other world leaders and long-term US allies.
“President Trump emphasised that the United States considers India a true friend and partner in addressing challenges around the world,” the White House said in a readout of the conversation between the two leaders.
During the call, the two leaders also discussed security in the South and Central Asia region, the White House statement said, adding, “President Trump looked forward to hosting Prime Minister Modi in the United States later this year.”
Modi was just the fifth world leader to be called by Trump since he was sworn-in as the 45th President of the United States last Friday. The only other world leaders he had spoken to in recent days included Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
When Trump stunned America and the world with his victory over Hillary Clinton in the November 8 elections, Modi was among the first few world leaders to congratulate him.
Three weeks earlier, Trump, speaking at an event organised in his honour by the Republican Hindu Coalition in Edison, New Jersey, had let it be known that he, if elected, would push for a strong relationship with India.
Touting himself as “a big fan of Hindu and a big fan of India”, Trump had declared his intention to make India and the United States “best friends” with a “phenomenal future together” if he were to emerge victorious.
“Under a Trump Administration, we are going to become even better friends, in fact, I would take the term better out and we would be the best friend,” Trump had told a cheering crowd of Indian-Americans, adding, “We’re going to have a phenomenal future together…I look forward to working with Prime Minister Modi.”
However, with Trump pushing ahead with his protectionist “America First” policy, it remains to be seen how the next phase of US-India relations pan out, given the speculation that the Trump administration could deal a hard blow to H-1B work visas that have greatly benefited Indian professionals and IT companies with US operations.