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Trump says may visit India, calls PM ‘friend’
A Modi-Trump meeting was earlier expected to take place in India this year on the sidelines of the four-nation Quad Leaders summit
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would visit India, perhaps as early as next year, while calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “great man” and a “friend” and reiterating his claim that India had stopped buying Russian oil.
“They (India) are going good, he (Modi) stopped buying oil from Russia largely. He is a friend of mine, and we speak and he wants me to go there. We will figure that out, I will go... Prime Minister Modi is a great man and I will be going,” Trump said at the White House.
When asked if he is planning to go to India next year, Trump said, “It could be, yeah.”
India’s external affairs ministry said it did not have any information to share on Trump’s comments.
“As far as the comments of President Trump regarding his visit to India are concerned, I do not have anything on this to share. I will let you know when I have something to share about it,” Jaiswal said at a press briefing.
A Modi-Trump meeting was earlier expected to take place in India this year on the sidelines of the four-nation Quad Leaders summit. Tensions between New Delhi and Washington over trade and Indian purchases of Russian energy led to speculation that Trump would cancel his visit to India. After an easing of tensions in September, senior US state department officials confirmed that planning for Trump’s visit to India was on.
According to people aware of the matter, diplomats in Washington, New Delhi, Canberra and Tokyo were initially planning for a Quad summit in January. However, a meeting now appears unlikely to happen then, given scheduling problems as well as clashes with India’s Republic Day celebrations.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese indicated that a leaders summit could take place in the first quarter of 2026.
America’s 50% tariff on Indian goods — including a 25% tariff penalty for purchasing Russian energy — as well as the Trump administration’s public criticism of India, created significant tension in the bilateral relationship during July and August. Ties warmed after President Trump and PM Modi exchanged messages on social media, with the American leader calling Modi on his birthday. The two men spoke again on the occasion of Diwali, when Trump stated that the conversation was focused on trade.
India has faced renewed pressure from the US and its European allies to cut down on Russian oil purchases, especially after American sanctions hit Russian energy majors Rosneft and Lukoil, which were among the main suppliers for Indian refiners.
Key cooperation between the two countries continues, including the signing of the 10-year defence framework agreement in Malaysia. However, a leader-level meeting is expected to push bureaucracies on both sides to accelerate key bilateral initiatives, including a trade deal. A prospective meeting between Trump and Modi could also signal a broader rapprochement in the relationship, which took a nosedive earlier this year.
Both sides remain in talks to hammer out a bilateral trade deal. Commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal, who is the chief negotiator for the trade deal with the US, concluded two days of discussions with American officials in mid-October in what was described as a cordial atmosphere that created pathways for constructive and mutually beneficial bilateral trade talks.
