Just hours ahead of the meeting with United States President Donald Trump in the early hours of Friday (IST), Prime Minister Narendra Modi late on Thursday evening met key Trump aide and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the US department of government efficiency (DoGE).
New Delhi:Just hours ahead of the meeting with United States President Donald Trump in the early hours of Friday (IST), Prime Minister Narendra Modi late on Thursday evening met key Trump aide and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the US department of government efficiency (DoGE).
Musk has reportedly been keen that his Starlink global satellite Internet services make an entry into India, while New Delhi is reportedly keen on a large presence of Musk’s Tesla Motors in the country to boost investment in India’s growing electric vehicle market.
Footage released of the meeting showed a broadly smiling Musk having a relaxed conversation with Modi. The tech billionaire’s children were seated near him, while on the Indian side external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, national security advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Indian ambassador to the US and former foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra and foreign secretary Vikram Misri were seated next to Modi.
Just before the meeting with Musk, US NSA Michael Waltz called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After the meeting with Waltz, Modi posted on X, “Had a fruitful meeting with NSA@michaelgwaltz. He has always been a great friend of India. Defence, technology and security are important aspects of India-USA ties and we had a wonderful discussion around these issues. There is strong potential for cooperation in sectors like AI, semiconductors, space and more.”
It may be noted that New Delhi had been worried over the growing influence and violence resorted to by pro-Khalistan elements in the US right under the nose of the previous Biden administration that seemed to turn a blind eye to India’s concerns then.
The last bilateral meeting of Modi on Thursday night was with Republican politician and Indian-origin entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Soon after the Prime Minister landed in Washington early on Thursday morning (IST), United States director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called on him. Gabbard, who is of Samoan origin and professes the Hindu faith, is known to share a special relationship with India. She has previously been a member of the US Congress and, before that, an officer in the US armed forces.
In a statement on the meeting, New Delhi said, “The Prime Minister fondly recalled his earlier interactions with Gabbard. The discussions touched on enhancing bilateral intelligence cooperation, particularly in counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, emerging threats and strategic intelligence sharing. They also exchanged views on regional and global developments of mutual interest, reaffirming their commitment to a secure, stable, and rules-based international order”.
Earlier, Modi, who is staying at the Blair House, which is the US presidential guesthouse, was given a warm welcome by the Indian diaspora on landing in Washington despite freezing temperatures. The Prime Minister thanked the diaspora for the gesture.
The keenly watched Modi and Trump meeting will be the first one to take place ever since the US President assumed office last month for a second term in office.
The Prime Minister is in Washington on a two-day “official working visit”. Trade tariffs imposed by India, the defence and security partnership including proposed defence deals, illegal immigration from India, the critical technologies and civil nuclear energy partnership, energy supply from the US to India, cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and within the four-nation Quad in the face of Chinese military assertiveness, the Russia-Ukraine war and the situation in the Middle East, including Iran are expected to be discussed between the two leaders.
The Prime Minister will hold both “restricted and delegation-level talks” with the US President, including an “intense” discussion that is likely to take place on trade issues.
Before his departure, Modi, earlier this week, had said that he had a “very warm recollection” of working together with Trump in his first term (from 2017-20) in “building a comprehensive global strategic partnership between India and the US”.
The US President, during a phone conversation about a fortnight ago, had told the Prime Minister that it is “important for India to increase its procurement of American-made security equipment and move toward a fair bilateral trading relationship”. Trump has previously mentioned India among several countries that levy high tariffs on American goods and has called for this to be rectified.
According to recent global news agency reports, India is considering a range of tariff concessions on American goods with the objective of assuaging Trump’s concerns on the trade front. The US has also been urging India to buy more American defence platforms and equipment, which is being seen as part of the US President’s efforts to boost American manufacturing in the defence sector.
