A White House visit for Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the range of issues that he and President Donald Trump discussed on a phone call.
The White House said in a readout that they also discussed security in the Indo-Pacific, West Asia and Europe, and the Quad (a grouping India and the US form with Japan and Australia) during the phone conversation on Monday.
The readout also said Trump emphasized the need for India to buy more security equipment from the US and strive towards a fair bilateral trading relationship.
PM Modi had earlier said in a post on X he had spoken to “dear friend President @realDonaldTrump @POTUS.”
“Congratulated him on his historic second term, " he said further and added, “We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership. We will work together for the welfare of our people and towards global peace, prosperity, and security.”
The White House said a few hours later that President Trump and Prime Minister Modi held “a productive call”.
“The two leaders discussed expanding and deepening cooperation. They also discussed a range of regional issues, including security in the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe. The President emphasized the importance of India increasing its procurement of American-made security equipment and moving toward a fair bilateral trading relationship.”
The readout added: “The leaders discussed plans for Prime Minister Modi to visit the White House, underscoring the strength of the friendship and strategic ties between our nations. Both leaders emphasized their commitment to advance the U.S.-India strategic partnership and the Indo-Pacific Quad partnership, with India hosting Quad Leaders for the first time later this year.”
There have been reports of officials of the two countries discussing a White House visit for PM Modi in February but there have been no announcements thus far. The Monday readout does indicate a visit is in the offing but gave no details.
The two leaders will meet personally sometime this year, most certainly when President Trump travels to India for a summit of the Quad countries. This was the second phone conversation between the two leaders after President Trump’s re-election; the first took place just after Trump won the election in November 2024.
The two leaders have shared a close personal relationship going back to President Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021. The US president jointly addressed a rally hosted for Prime Minister Modi in Houston in 2019 called the “Howdy Modi” rally and then he travelled to India in February 2020 for a “Namaste Trump “ in Prime Minister Modi’s home state Gujarat.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar represented the Prime Minister at Trump’s inauguration last week and attended all related events, even a prayer service where guests included the Trump family, cabinet members and the US President allies in the tech world, such as Elon Musk of Tesla, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta and Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Sundar Pichai of Google. Jaishankar also became Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s first foreign guest for a bilateral at the State Department, following a meeting of the Quad foreign ministers, along with Australia’s Penny Wong and Japan’s Iwaya Takeshi.
‘Pahalgam incident deeply disturbing & tragic’: Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday termed the Pahalgam terror attack as disturbing & tragic and also condoled the victims and their families.
Congress finally deletes 'Gayab' post targeting PM Modi after outrage
Under fire from the BJP over its social media post targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress finally, on Tuesday, took down the controversial post.
Guterres calls EAM Jaishankar, Pak PM Sharif; stresses pursuing justice in Pahalgam terror attack
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed the importance of pursuing justice in the Pahalgam terrorist attack while speaking with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shebaz Sharif, his Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday.
Congress organises ‘Save Constitution’ rallies across NE states
The opposition Congress has been organising ‘Samvidhan Bachao’ (Save Constitution) campaign in the northeastern states. Claiming that the Constitution is in danger under the BJP-led Central government, the opposition Congress held a massive rally in Agartala on Tuesday.
RSS chief Bhagwat meets PM Modi after security huddle: Signs of a hard-hitting response in the works
In a significant political development, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg on Tuesday evening.
What PM Modi's free hand to armed forces against terror means for cross-border action?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unambiguous message during a high-level security meeting - ‘India is determined to deliver a crushing blow to terrorism’ - marks more than just a strong statement of resolve.
Justice BR Gavai appointed as next Chief Justice of India
Justice Gavai was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on May 29, 2019. Appointed as Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in November 2003, he became a permanent Judge in November 2005.
Three more Bangladeshi nationals held in Tripura
The Tripura Frontier of the Border Security Force (BSF) on Tuesday apprehended three Bangladeshi nationals, including a woman, for illegally entering India, officials said.