Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to the USA, where he met with President Donald Trump to discuss bilateral issues. Modi’s visit highlights that the USA sees India as a valuable ally. He is the fourth leader to visit President Trump during his second tenure in the White House, following the visits of the Israeli, Japanese, and Jordanian prime ministers.
The talks will range from trade and immigration to the very immediate threat the US feels is there, China. Both Modi and Trump are strongman leaders known for their nationalistic and hardline views. They both also share their views of China and radical Islam as an existential threat. Moreover, according to a survey, Indians are among the most positive about the second tenure of President Trump.
One of the main concerns in this bilateral meeting is the US trade deficit with New Delhi. Trump has previously called India a “Tariff King” and a “Very Big Abuser” of tariffs, especially on American goods. Modi is expected to address this issue with offers to buy more American goods, mostly from the defence and energy sectors.
Another thing the US and India talked about was the illegal immigration from India. After Mexico and El Salvador, India is the third largest contributor of illegal immigrants. Recently, the US sent back 100 illegal immigrants back to Punjab, India.
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Trump and Modi will also address the China threat in manufacturing and technology. After the recent DeepSeek shenanigans, India is trying to promote its own AI model as an alternative. However, India cannot be a viable alternative to China as the manufacturing capability of India lacks by mile. So much so that even after being an arch-nemesis of China, India still imports the majority of goods from China.
They also talked about defence and how India can be a bulwark of the USA in the region against China. The Indian and American defence ministers have also signed a 10-year defence cooperation deal to strengthen the interoperability of their armies and improve the defence technology of the Asian country.
