Trump to host working dinner for PM Modi

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 24

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States where he will meet US President Donald Trump for the first time, the signals coming from Washington DC today were positive. Senior US officials described the relationship as an “important” one and that the US realises “India has been a force for good in the world”.

But more than the sentiments, the fact that the US administration is expected to authorize the purchase of 22 naval drones to India during this visit would be the proof that the Trump administration is serious about its relationship with India. The agreement for the drones is valued at more than $2 billion and would reaffirm India’s status as a “major defence partner” of the US.

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President Trump and PM Modi will have a one-to-one meeting on June 26 which will be followed by delegation-level talks between the two sides. President Trump will then host a working dinner for PM Modi. While that sounds good, it is significant to note that till now Trump has hosted world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida. While this would be the first working dinner to be hosted by Trump, it could also mean a more formal and less welcoming ambience than Mar-a-Lago.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson today in Washington DC. The meeting was to firm up the agenda for the meeting of the two leaders on June 26.