Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced on Feb. 8 that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet with President Trump in Washington, D.C. over Feb. 12-13. Just prior to the meeting, Modi is scheduled to be in France over Feb. 10-12 to co-chair the AI Action Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, reported by the Indian Express.
“This will be the first visit of Prime Minister Modi to the United States since the inauguration of the second presidential term of President Donald Trump…. The fact that the Prime Minister has been invited to visit the U.S. within barely three weeks of the new administration taking office shows the importance of the India-U.S. partnership and is also reflective of the bipartisan support this partnership enjoys in the U.S.,” Misri said.
Misri emphasized that there has been a close rapport between Trump and Modi since Trump’s first term, citing the convergence of interests in a number of areas such as trade, technology and defense, and the 5.4 million Indians living in America, which creates strong ties with India.
“The Prime Minister’s visit to the United States will provide further direction and momentum to this important partnership. We expect a joint statement to be adopted at the end of the visit, which will be shared in due course,” he said.
Modi’s visit comes in the wake of an outrageous incident involving the deportation of 104 illegal Indian immigrants, who were allegedly flown back to India in handcuffs and shackles for the entire flight, which created an uproar in the Indian parliament, according to CBS News. The U.S. Department of Defense has confirmed that an Air Force C-17 plane was used for the flight.
When asked about the incident by the Indian press, Misri said, “Yes, we have been in touch with U.S. authorities on this issue on a continuing basis, and we have registered our concern with them on this matter.… That is perhaps, you know, this kind of treatment can perhaps be avoided.”
