‘India will do the right thing on immigrants’; Modi to visit US in Feb, says Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump said on Monday (local time) prime minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States in February.
“He (PM Modi) will visit the US sometime in February,” news agency Reuters quoted Donald Trump as saying.
Trump’s statement followed his telephonic conversation with PM Modi, their’ first since the Republican was sworn in for a second term on January 20.
The call came against the backdrop of buzz in diplomatic circles about the Indian side working on an early meeting between the two leaders.
Meanwhile, President Trump also noted he discussed immigration with PM Modi, and said India will do ‘what is right’ when it comes to taking back ’illegal immigrants.’
The US leader’s pledge to crackdown on illegal immigrants in the United States is believed to have played a crucial role in his return to the White House, four years after he lost as the incumbent to Democrat Joe Biden.
Prime minister Narendra Modi’s previous US visit came in September last year, as he went there for the fourth Quad Leaders’ summit, hosted by then-President Joe Biden, and also attended by prime ministers of fellow Quad states: Anthony Albanese of Australia and then-prime minister Fumio Kishida of Japan.
Additionally, PM Modi addressed the ‘Summit of the Future’ at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
External affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar represented the Indian government at Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington D.C.
White House on Trump-Modi call
According to a White House statement, President Trump and PM Modi had a ‘productive call,’ with a discussion on how to ‘expand and deepen’ cooperation between the two countries.
There was also a discussion on plans for a possible US visit for PM Modi, as per the statement.
“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 US-India strategic partnership and the Indo-Pacific Quad partnership, with India hosting Quad Leaders for the first time later this year,” the release added.
