External affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always had a very good personal equation with US President Donald Trump.
The EAM’s remarks come after Trump called Modi a ‘friend’ and a “great prime minister” while the PM said he totally reciprocates the sentiment.
“PM Modi attaches enormous importance to our partnership with the US. Where President Trump is concerned, he has always had a very good personal equation with President Trump. But the point is that we remain engaged with the US, and at this time, I can’t say more than that. But that’s really what I would say,” news agency ANI quoted Jaishankar as saying.
The India-US relations have been in the doldrums in recent weeks after Trump imposed a cumulative 50% tariffs on Indian imports in the US. While 25% was a baseline tariff, the remaining were added citing India’s purchase of Russian oil amid war in Ukraine. New Delhi had termed the move ‘unjustified’ and ‘unreasonable’.
PM Modi responds to Trump’s ‘friend’ remark
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appreciated and reciprocated US President Donald Trump’s “positive assessment” of bilateral ties after the American leader said he would “always be friends” with Modi and pointed to a “special relationship” between the two countries.
“Deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our ties. India and the US have a very positive and forward-looking Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership,” Modi said in a social media post.
Hours earlier, Trump was asked during the news conference about his social media post on Friday, in which he talked about losing “India and Russia to deepest, darkest China” – a reference to Modi being seen in the company of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin.
“I will always be friends with Modi, he is a great prime minister, he’s great. I’ll always be friends but I just don’t like what he’s doing at this particular moment, but India and the US have a special relationship. There is nothing to worry about,” Trump said.