News Brief
Proposed F-35 Deal, Oil Imports, And Tahawwur Rana Extradition: Key Takeaways From Modi-Trump Meeting In US
PM Modi and President Trump
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump in the White House on Friday (14 February).
The main focus of their talks was on trade, defence, and immigration, India Today reported.
The meeting, which took place shortly after Trump announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs and stated that India is at the "top of the pack", resulted in key outcomes including the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, the accused of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, to India and the proposed deal for the F-35 jet.
Despite the looming tariff issue, the camaraderie between the two leaders was evident, with a warm hug and mutual praise for their partnership.
PM Modi announced a bilateral trade target of $500 billion by 2030, with India planning to import more US oil and gas to reduce the trade deficit.
He humorously claimed that only Trump had a "copyright on the word deal", to which Trump responded that Modi was a better and tougher negotiator than him.
During the joint briefing, much of the remarks made by Donald Trump and PM Modi centred around trade issues.
PM Modi said that both countries have set up a target of $500 billion for bilateral trade. Additionally, Trump also announced a deal with India to import more US oil and gas.
Another major announcement from Trump was the approval of the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, an accused in the 26/11 terror attack, fulfilling a long-standing request from India.
"My administration has approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, one of the very evil people of the world, to face justice in India," Trump said.
In a big boost to the defence ties between the two countries, Trump announced that the US would amplify its military sales to India by "billions of dollars" and would supply fifth-generation F-35 stealth jets to the nation.
Adding his own spin to Trump's 'MAGA' slogan while praising the collaboration between the two countries, PM Modi said, "In India, we are working towards a Viksit Bharat, which in American context translates into MIGA (Make India Great Again). When US and India work together, this MAGA plus MIGA becomes a 'MEGA' partnership for prosperity".
In response to queries about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Prime Minister asserted that India's stance is one of peace and commended Trump's attempts to mitigate the crisis.
"The world thinks India is neutral, but India is not neutral. India has its own stance, it is peace," Modi said.
Regarding the crisis in Bangladesh that resulted in the collapse of the government led by Sheikh Hasina last year, Donald Trump dismissed rumors about the involvement of the US deep state.
"I will leave Bangladesh to PM Modi," the President said.
Following the deportation of 104 Indians from the US, Prime Minister Modi assured that India is completely ready to repatriate its "verified" citizens living illegally in America. He urged for collaborative measures to dismantle the infrastructure of human trafficking.
The two leaders announced the launch of the 'TRUST' initiative for greater collaboration among governments, academia and the private sector to drive innovation in defence, AI, semiconductors, energy and space.
Admiring the "negotiating" skills of PM Modi, Trump said, "He is a much tougher negotiator than me, and he is a much better negotiator than me. There is not even a contest".
The US President also offered to mediate to end the longstanding border issues between India and China along the LAC.
"If I could be of help, I'd love to help, because that should be stopped... It's quite violent," he said.
