New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday welcomed US President Donald Trump’s announcement that the two countries were moving forward through dialogue to resolve trade barriers. Modi described India and the US as “close friends and natural partners” and said both sides were working to conclude negotiations at the earliest.
“I look forward to my conversation with President Trump. We will work together to ensure a bright and prosperous future for the people of both our countries,” PM Modi said, expressing confidence that the interaction would help unlock the “limitless potential” of the India-US partnership.
Earlier, Trump said he was confident there would be “no difficulty” in reaching “successful conclusions” to the trade talks and that he would soon hold discussions with his “good friend” Modi. His remarks come amid strained ties between the two countries, which analysts say are at their lowest in two decades due to US tariffs and India’s oil imports from Russia.
Washington has imposed a 25 per cent reciprocal tax on India, in addition to a 25 per cent levy on Russian oil purchases, pushing the overall tax burden on India to 50 per cent — the highest in the world.
New Delhi has rejected the measures as “unfair and unreasonable” and defended its Russian oil imports as being in the country’s national interest.
Despite months of criticism, Trump last week described India-US ties as a “special relationship.” “I will always be a friend of Modi. He is a brilliant prime minister, but I don’t like the work he is doing right now,” Trump said at the White House. “India and America have a special relationship, there is nothing to worry about. Sometimes such moments come.”
