Modi, Trump talk global peace, focus on strategic connect

With the overarching goal of building a mutually beneficial partnership grounded in trust, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held his first telephonic conversation with President Donald Trump since the much-trumpeted presidential inauguration and discussed enhancing cooperation in promoting global peace and prosperity.

The telephonic conversation on January 27 came a week after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar represented India as PM Modi’s special envoy at the presidential inauguration and held talks with key figures in Trump’s Cabinet.  Congratulating Trump on beginning his second term as the 47th president of the United States, both PM Modi and Trump reaffirmed their commitment to work towards a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership.

After the conversation, PM Modi wrote on X, “Delighted to speak with my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump @POTUS. Congratulated him on his historic second term. 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.”

Decoding the conversation, well-placed sources said that the two leaders discussed geopolitical hotspots, including the situation in West Asia and Ukraine. The two leaders also discussed steps for enhancing economic ties amid apprehensions in New Delhi regarding Trump’s threat of imposing additional duties on all exports to US, including Indian exports. India has around $40 billion trade surplus with the US, which is resented by Trump, who has insisted on fair and balanced trade as part of his “America First” agenda.

The trajectory of India-US ties look bright under the Trump 2.0 presidency as the US is likely to deepen strategic ties with New Delhi to bolster its capability to counter Chinese aggression and hegemonic ambitions. In their talks with Dr Jaishankar, both Secretary of State Marc Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz conveyed Trump’s commitment to deepen strategic and economic ties with India. The convening of the Quad ministerial meeting within a day of the presidential inauguration underlined the importance the Trump administration accords to intensifying ties with like-minded democracies to counter China.