By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he plans to visit India soon, praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “great man” and his “friend.”
Trump said the trade negotiations with India are going “very well,” as he was responding to a question during a press conference at the White House.
“He’s a friend of mine, and we speak, and he wants me to go there. We’ll figure that out. I’ll go…He’s a great man and I’ll be going,” he added.
Trump said, “it could be, yeah.” The US President also remembered his last visit to India in 2020, stated “I had a great trip there with the Prime Minister,” when asked if he would travel to India next year.
He also claimed that India has “largely stopped buying oil from Russia.”
Trump’s statement came days after the White House said that Trump has great respect for Prime Minister Modi and said the two leaders speak “pretty frequently.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump “feels very positive and strongly” about the bilateral relationship between India and the US.
“I know the President has great respect for Prime Minister Modi, and they speak pretty frequently.”
On the trade negotiations, Leavitt had revealed that Trump and his team are in “serious discussions” with the Indian side.
”The President and his trade team continue to be in very serious discussions with India with respect to that topic,” she added.
She also highlighted last month’s Diwali event at the White House and the appointment of Sergio Gor as the next US Ambassador, as evidence of the US President’s commitment to the relationship with India.
“He recently, a few weeks back, spoke to Prime Minister directly when he celebrated in the Oval Office, Diwali, with many high-ranking Indian American officials here at the White House. We have a great US Ambassador to India in Mr. Sergio Gor, who will represent our country very well,” she noted.
Trump hosted a special Diwali celebration at the White House on October 21, where he termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi “a great person” and said he loves “the people of India.”
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