Evian-les-Bains: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump exchanged pleasantries and held a brief conversation on Tuesday at a gathering of G7 leaders, marking their first in-person encounter in 16 months amid continuing strain in bilateral ties.
In Evian-les-Bains, the site of this year’s G7 summit of the powerful grouping, Modi and Trump shared a warm handshake followed by a short conversation.
A full bilateral sit-down is slated for Wednesday on the sidelines of the gathering.
While details of their brief exchange were not known, the encounter sets the stage for their high-stakes talks.
Following US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to India last month, the two sides are now looking at rebuilding the bilateral ties.
The relations witnessed a major downturn after Washington imposed punitive tariffs on India and President Trump made controversial assertions regarding his role in de-escalating the India-Pakistan military clashes last May.
Over the next few months, the US president repeatedly and publicly claimed that he had resolved the military conflict between the two neighbours and saved millions of lives as it was heading toward a full-scale war.
New Delhi stoutly maintained that the cessation of the hostilities was a result of talks between India and Pakistan, and the US involvement had nothing to do with it.
Washington’s new immigration policy and its decision to increase the H1B visa fee also contributed to the slide in India-US ties.
However, both sides made efforts in the last few months to repair the ties and even moved forward to firm up a mutually beneficial trade deal soon.
Last week, the relations came under fresh strain after three Indian sailors were killed following the US military’s attacks on three merchant vessels off the coast of Oman.
Three Indians from one of the vessels were killed in the strikes following which New Delhi summoned the US charge d’affaires Jason Meeks and told him that the American military’s “lethal and deadly” strikes on commercial vessels with Indian crew members is “unacceptable”.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also raised the issue with Rubio.
The US Central Command said it initiated action to disable three vessels, Marivex on June 8, Settebello on June 9 and MT Jalveer on June 11, saying they were trying to violate the US blockade of Iranian ports.
The Modi-Trump encounter was their first since the prime minister travelled to Washington DC in February last year to meet the US President.
In their meeting on Wednesday, the two leaders are expected to take stock of the entire gamut of bilateral ties, including the ongoing negotiations for the bilateral trade deal and steps being taken to boost defence cooperation.
The trade pact is expected to be an important step towards a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement, as envisaged during PM Modi’s visit to Washington DC in February last year.
Modi and Trump may also exchange views on pressing global challenges, including the West Asia crisis and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Rubio, during his meeting with the prime minister last month, had invited him on behalf of Trump to visit the White House in the “near future”.
The top American diplomat described India as the “cornerstone” of Washington’s approach towards the Indo-Pacific.
Modi has travelled to France for the G7 summit as India was invited as a guest country to the summit.
The Group of 7 (G7) brings together seven of the world’s most advanced economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union is also a member of the bloc.
The G7 serves as the forum of choice for its members to discuss and coordinate action in response to major economic, financial and geopolitical challenges on the global stage.
