Trump, Modi talk trade on phone; all eyes on likely ASEAN meeting

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump discussed trade issues over the phone on Wednesday, the crucial conversation coming days ahead of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur from October 26-27 where a bilateral meeting is likely between the two leaders if they make it to the event.

Incidentally, it will be the first meeting between Modi and Trump since the US imposed steep 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods, including 25 per cent for buying Russian crude oil.

In his remarks following the call, Trump described the India-US relationship as “great” and said, without elaborating, that the two sides were working on some “great deals”.

In a social media post, Prime Minister Modi thanked Trump for the phone call and his Diwali greetings and hoped that both India and the US would continue to “illuminate” the world with hope and stand united against terrorism. “Thank you, President Trump, for your phone call and warm Diwali greetings. On this festival of lights, may our two great democracies continue to illuminate the world with hope and stand united against terrorism in all its forms,” Modi said on X.

Trump told reporters at the White House that he and Modi discussed trade and repeated his claim that India will not buy “much oil from Russia”. It was the third phone call between Modi and Trump since September 16.

“We talked about trade. He’s very interested in that. Although we did talk a little while ago about not having wars with Pakistan. I think the fact that trade was involved, I was able to talk about it then, and we have no war with Pakistan and India and that was a very, very good thing… but he’s a great person and he’s become a great friend of mine over the years,” Trump told reporters. Official sources in New Delhi, however, said Pakistan was not discussed during the phone conversation on Tuesday.

The US President also repeated his claim that India would stop procuring Russian crude oil. “I spoke to PM Modi.... We just have a very good relationship and he’s not gonna buy much oil from Russia. He wants to see that war end as much as I do,” he said.

Trump, meanwhile, used the Diwali event at the Oval Office to reiterate that India was “not going to buy much oil from Russia”, claiming Modi had assured him during their call that he wanted the Russia-Ukraine war to end soon.

If Modi travels to Kuala Lumpur for the ASEAN Summit, a meeting with Trump could help ease tensions between the world’s two largest democracies, say diplomats.

Though the Ministry of External Affairs has not formally confirmed Modi’s participation, officials told The Tribune that the ASEAN Summit “offered a natural setting for strategic engagement” amid shifting regional equations and a renewed focus on the Indo-Pacific.