India celebrates U.S. elections as a fellow democracy: MEA

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during the weekly media briefing in Delhi, on November 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

India “celebrates” the U.S. election process, said the government on Thursday (November 7, 2024), and Prime Minister Narendra Modi told U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that India looks forward to future cooperation with the United States during his tenure. During his call to Mr. Trump to congratulate him for his victory in the elections on Wednesday (November 6, 2024), Mr. Modi had “recalled their memorable interactions” during his first tenure (2016-2020), including two public rallies they had addressed together in Houston and Gandhinagar, according to a statement released on Thursday (November 7, 2024).

“As a fellow democracy, India celebrates this expression of people’s mandate in the United States,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told journalists at a weekly briefing on Thursday (November 7, 2024). “Prime Minister Modi conveyed to President-elect that we look forward to working very closely, as he had done with him earlier as well to further strengthen the India-U.S. comprehensive global and strategic partnership”, he said, elaborating on the conversation that Mr. Modi had announced on social media a day earlier.

According to government sources, during the conversation, Mr. Trump had praised Mr. Modi as a “magnificent man” and India as a “magnificent country”.

“Both leaders reiterated the importance of the India-U.S. Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, for the benefit of the people of the two countries as well as for global peace and stability,” said the MEA in a statement, adding that the leaders committed to working together to “further strengthen bilateral ties across technology, defence, energy, space and several other sectors”.

Asked whether Mr. Modi would travel to the U.S. for Mr. Trump’s inauguration ceremony on January 20, 2025, officials said they were not aware of any plans for the Prime Minister’s travels to the U.S. Next week, Mr. Modi will leave for a three-nation tour to Nigeria, Brazil and Guyana. In Brazil, he will attend the G-20 summit which the U.S.’s outgoing President, Joseph Biden, is expected to attend as well. In 2025, New Delhi will host the Quad summit, and Mr. Trump will be expected to travel to India at that time.