Trump Welcomes Modi With A Hug, PM Says 'Delighted To See You Back At White House'
PM Modi was accompanied by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and India's Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday was welcomed with a hug from US President Donald Trump as he arrived at the White House for the bilateral meeting.
PM Modi said he is 'delighted' to see Trump back at the White House. The Indian Prime Minister was accompanied by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and India's Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra as he arrived in the White House for the crucial meeting.
"Together we will march towards progress and prosperity of our two nations," PM Modi told Trump in the opening remarks during the meeting with President Trump.
"I congratulate you on this grand victory of yours, not just from my side, but on behalf of 140 crore Indians as well. This is a coincidence that people of India chose a prime minister to serve the country for a third straight time after 60 years. It is matter of happiness for me that in this term, I have once again got the opportunity to work with President Trump," PM Modi said.
The bilateral meeting between the two leaders come as the US President signed a measure to have reciprocal tariffs and called India "a very hard place to do business."
PM Modi, who is meeting the US President after the January 20 inauguration, is the fourth global leader to meet Trump.
US President Donald Trump welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House in Washington, DC.
— ANI (@ANI) February 13, 2025
(Pic: Dan Scavino, White House Account/X) pic.twitter.com/4yI7ruzGRd
Trump, ahead of his meeting with Modi, announced a new reciprocal tariff policy for all the trading partners of the US, a move that could have some impact on India's trade with the US as well.
Earlier in the day, PM Modi met Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Indian-origin entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and US NSA Mike Waltz.
VIDEO | Visuals of PM Modi arriving at White House for a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 13, 2025
(Source: Third Party) pic.twitter.com/myw73IYnEW
Ahead of the Modi-Trump meeting, diplomatic sources told news agency PTI that the focus of the talks will be on enhancing cooperation in areas of defence, energy, technology, infrastructure and trade.
The Trump administration is particularly keen on expanding Washington's defence sales to India and the two sides may broadly finalise a couple of deals including co-production of Stryker armoured fighting vehicles in India, the report added. Besides defence, trade is set to be a high priority area in the deliberations between the two leaders as Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on global steel and aluminium imports into the US.
PM Modi, who is on a two-day visit to the US, is staying at the Blair House, the US presidential guest house at the heart of the US capital. The prime minister's visit to Washington DC comes days after the Trump administration deported 104 Indians in handcuffs and shackles on a military aircraft that sparked outrage in India.
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