U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday (October 29, 2025) praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “nicest-looking guy” while describing him as a “father” but also calling him “a killer” and “tough as hell”, while hinting at an imminent trade deal between the two countries.

While delivering his keynote remarks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEOs Luncheon in Gyeongju, South Korea, the U.S. President also reiterated his disputed claim of personally averting a “nuclear war” between India and Pakistan in May.

Mr. Trump asserted that his intervention helped de-escalate tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations, claiming that seven planes were shot down during the conflict. He said he personally contacted both PM Modi and Pakistan’s leadership to halt the hostilities, linking the resolution to trade negotiations.

“I’m doing a trade deal with India, and I have great respect and love for Prime Minister Modi. We have a great relationship. Likewise, the Prime Minister of Pakistan is a great guy. They have a field marshal. You know why he’s a field marshal? He’s a great fighter. And I know them all. I’m reading that seven planes were shot down. These are two nuclear nations. And they’re really going at it,” Mr. Trump said.

“And I called Prime Minister Modi and said, ‘We can’t make a trade deal with you… You’re starting a war with Pakistan. We’re not going to do it.’ And then I called Pakistan and said, ‘We’re not going to do trade with you because you’re fighting with India.’ They said, ‘No, no, you should let us fight.’ They both said that. They’re strong people. Prime Minister Modi is the nicest-looking guy. He looks like you’d like to have your father, but he’s a killer. He’s tough as hell. ‘No, we will fight,’ (PM Modi said). I said, ‘…this is the same man that I know’,” he added.

The U.S. President also compared his handling of the situation to that of former U.S. President Joe Biden, questioning whether Mr. Biden could have achieved similar results.

“After literally two days, they called up, and they said, ‘We understand,’ and they stopped fighting. How is that? Isn’t that amazing? Now, do you think Biden would have done that? I don’t think so,” he concluded.

Mr. Trump’s comments on the India-Pakistan conflict refer to the escalation in May following India’s Operation Sindoor, a series of precision strikes on nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 civilians.

The U.S. President had been repeating his claims of playing a key role in helping de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan, arguing that trade and tariffs were instrumental to the U.S. in preventing conflicts.

India has consistently refuted Mr. Trump’s claims, stating that the ceasefire was achieved bilaterally through the Director Generals of Military Operations, without third-party involvement. India has also reiterated its long-standing position that any issues with Pakistan, including those related to Jammu and Kashmir, are to be resolved bilaterally between the two countries.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday (October 23, 2025) said he hoped for a trade deal with the U.S. to materialise in the “near future”. He added that the teams of both countries were in dialogue and that talks were “progressing”.

Mr. Goyal is in Berlin at the moment, following a short trip to Geneva to speak at the 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

“We are in dialogue with the United States of America,” Mr. Goyal told the media in Berlin. “Our teams are engaged. We recently had the Commerce Secretary visit the U.S. and he met with his counterparts. We continue to engage with them and talks are progressing. We hope to work towards a fair and equitable agreement in the near future.”

Path ahead

These statements come at a time when relations between India and the U.S., though currently overtly thawing, remain tense under the cloud of the 50% tariffs the U.S. has imposed on imports from India. 

U.S. President Donald Trump has recently asserted several times that India will cut its oil imports from Russia — the main reason behind the inflated tariffs on India. However, India has not officially confirmed this and has, in fact, said that it would secure its national and energy security however it saw best. 

At the same time, various Indian government officials have gone on the record to say India is keen to increase its energy imports from the U.S. 

Also read: No deal with U.S. ever final, India should secure its own interests: trade analyst

It remains to be seen when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Mr. Trump next as the dates of the next Quad Summit have not yet been finalised, and Mr. Modi has said he will attend the upcoming ASEAN summit only virtually. 

European deal

Separately, Mr. Goyal during his trip also held talks with various officials in Europe regarding the India-European Union free trade agreement negotiations.

“Had a productive engagement focused on the positive resolution of the outstanding issues with respect to the India-EU FTA with Mr. Maroš Šefčovič, EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, ahead of my Brussels visit starting next week,” Mr. Goyal said on X on Wednesday (October 22). 

“The shared commitment on both sides towards redefining the relationship is deeply encouraging,” he added.

Deeper engagement

On Thursday (October 23), the Minister posted that he had met Katherina Reiche, the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy.

“Our discussions focused on deepening Indo-German ties in trade and investment, joint industrial and technological partnerships in green energy, new and emerging technologies, as well as defence,” Mr. Goyal said. “Talks also covered Germany’s commitment to finalising the India-EU FTA.”

During his time in Berlin, the Minister also met Levin Holle, Economic and Financial Policy Advisor at the Federal Chancellery and Germany’s G7 & G20 Sherpa. 

He also chaired a roundtable with CEOs and leaders of German Mittelstand companies at the Indian Embassy, who conveyed their “keenness to do business in India and expand existing investments”, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a release.

The Ministry added that Mr. Goyal is scheduled to meet Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Luxembourg and hold one-on-one discussions with CEOs of leading German companies, including Infineon Technologies, Schaeffler Group, Renk, HerrenknechtAG, Enertrag SE, and the Mercedes Benz Group.