Prime Minister Modi arrives in the US after completing his visit to France

Will meet with Trump; what will happen?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the US late on Wednesday evening on a two-day visit. He is scheduled to meet President Donald Trump here. The two leaders will also hold bilateral meetings. Prime Minister Modi left Marseille for the US on Wednesday, concluding his visit to France. This is the second leg of his two-nation tour. He arrived in France on February 10.

Prime Minister Modi will hold bilateral meetings with President Trump at individual and delegation level. Let us tell you that Prime Minister Modi is one of the few global leaders who is visiting the US after Trump’s swearing-in ceremony on January 20. Several bilateral issues are expected to be discussed during the meeting between Modi and Trump. Experts monitoring foreign policy have indicated that some sensitive issues may also be discussed.

PM Modi’s visit comes at a time when Trump is threatening to impose tariffs on goods imported from various countries after taking office on January 20. Before Modi’s visit, a US military plane landed at Amritsar airport on February 5, carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants, 30 of whom were from Punjab. This was the first batch of Indians to be deported by the Trump administration as part of its crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said in Delhi on Monday that the manner in which a group of Indians have been deported from the US has caused a lot of concern, anger and outrage in India and Delhi should raise the issue with Washington.

India said Modi’s visit would give direction and momentum to the “important partnership” between the two countries. Senior officials said the visit would provide a “crucial opportunity” to engage with the new administration on all areas of mutual interest.

At a press conference here on February 7, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that the Prime Minister’s visit to the US at the invitation of President Trump “reflects the importance of the India-US partnership and also underlines the bilateral support this partnership enjoys in the US.”

Prime Minister Modi will also interact with business leaders and members of the Indian community in the US. Misri had said that Prime Minister Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with President Trump. He had said that apart from discussing the regional and international situation, several bilateral issues are also expected to be discussed.

The Foreign Secretary had said, “There is a clear convergence of interests between the two countries in many areas, including trade, investment, technology, defense cooperation, counter-terrorism, Indo-Pacific security, and people-to-people relations.”

He had said, “The Indian community in America has a population of 5.4 million and the more than 3,50,000 Indian students pursuing higher education in American universities further strengthen this relationship.”

The Foreign Secretary had said, “The Prime Minister’s visit to the US will provide additional direction and momentum to this important partnership.” We hope that a joint statement will be passed at the end of the visit, which will be shared in due course.