Modi-Trump bilateral meeting LIVE: What to expect from today’s US-India meeting on the sidelines of the G7 | Today’s news
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump are set for a full, high-stakes bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 leaders’ meeting on Wednesday, June 17.
Modi and Trump exchanged pleasantries and held a brief conversation on Tuesday, marking their first face-to-face meeting in 16 months amid continued strain in bilateral ties. In Evian-les-Bains, the site of this year’s G7 summit, they shook hands together and a short conversation followed.
Their meeting comes a month after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to India.
Why are relations between the US and India strained?
Relations saw a major downturn after Washington imposed punitive tariffs on India and President Trump made controversial statements last May regarding his role in de-escalating India-Pakistan military clashes.
Over the next few months, the US president repeatedly and publicly claimed that he had resolved the military conflict between the two neighbors and saved millions of lives as he moved toward full-scale war.
New Delhi has strongly maintained that the cessation of hostilities was the result of talks between India and Pakistan and that US involvement had nothing to do with it.
Washington’s new immigration policy and its decision to increase the H-1B visa fee also contributed to the decline in Indo-US relations.
However, both sides have made efforts to mend relations over the past few months and are now set to cement a mutually beneficial trade deal soon.
What to expect from the Modi-Trump meeting?
The two leaders are expected to review the full range of bilateral relations, including ongoing negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement and steps to strengthen defense cooperation, at the meeting, scheduled for around 2:45 pm (local time, Évian), which is expected to be around 6:15 pm in New Delhi, news agency PTI reported.
The trade pact is expected to be an important step towards a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement as envisaged during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Washington DC in February last year.
