US President Donald Trump said he may visit India next year at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's invitation, calling Modi "a great friend" and "a great man." Praising India for reducing Russian oil imports, Trump did not commit to lifting the 25% tariff. Quad summit dates remain undecided.
US President Donald Trump indicated that he could travel to India next year, telling reporters at the White House that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants him to visit the country. He lavished praise on Prime Minister Modi, calling him "a great friend of mine" and "a great man", and declared that India had largely stopped buying Russian oil, but did not announce any plans to lift the additional 25% tariff imposed by his administration on India on this count.
"He (PM Modi) largely stopped buying from Russia. And he is a friend of mine, and we speak. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a great man. He is a friend of mine, and we speak and he wants me to go there. We will figure that out, I will go... Prime Minister Modi is a great man and I will be going," Trump said on Thursday after announcing a new deal to lower the prices of weight loss drugs.
When asked directly whether he planned to travel to India next year, the President said, "It could be, yes."
India was earlier planning to host the Quad this month but the plan was dropped after irritants emerged over trade deal negotiations between India and the US and no trade deal was in sight. The dates for the summit are yet to be announced.