New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the US capital to meet the recently-sworn in President Donald Trump amid the latter’s hardline stance on tariffs and immigration. He is also scheduled to meet billionaire Elon Musk during the two-day visit.
Here are the key takeaways from PM Modi’s ongoing US visit:
- This will be the first bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Trump after the latter assumed presidency for the second time last month.
- PM Modi will be staying at the Blair House, the US presidential guest house at the heart of the American capital city Washington DC.
- At the Blair House, the President’s Guest House, he was accorded a rousing welcome by members of the Indian-American community. Braving freezing temperatures and rain, the community members gathered at Blair House and welcomed him with slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Modi Modi’ as they waved the Indian and American flags.
- PM Modi’s key priority is likely to be to pre-empt any punitive trade action by Washington against India, with the aim to avoid high tariffs and expand the trade basket. PM Modi’s visit to the US comes shortly after Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on global steel and aluminium imports into the US, a move expected to hit Indian firms.
- Likely on the agenda are also matters concerning investment, energy, defence, technology and immigration.
- The two leaders are also likely to touch upon overall situation in the Indo-Pacific, Ukraine and developments in West Asia.
- PM Modi is the fourth foreign leader hosted by Trump over the weeks since his inauguration, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
- PM Modi held a meeting with US Director Of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard in Washington and discussed various aspects of India-US friendship.
- PM Modi is scheduled to meet billionaire Elon Musk, during his visit to the White House on Thursday. He is also expected to meet other business leaders.
- This is PM Modi’s 10th visit to the United States as prime minister and fourth with Trump as President. Biden hosted him at a ceremonial state visit in 2024. PM Modi’s first visit to the US as prime minister was in 2014 when Barack Obama was the President.
