Trump says he will visit India next year, calls PM Modi a ‘great man’

Washington: US President Donald Trump said he plans to visit India soon, praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “great man” and his “friend.”

Responding to a question during a press conference at the White House on Thursday, Trump said the trade negotiations with India are going “very well.”

“He’s a friend of mine, and we speak, and he wants me to go there. We’ll figure that out. I’ll go…He’s a great man and I’ll be going,” he added.

When asked if he would travel to India next year, Trump said, “it could be, yeah.” The US President also remembered his last visit to India in 2020, saying, “I had a great trip there with the Prime Minister.”

He also claimed that India has “largely stopped buying oil from Russia.”

Trump’s statement comes days after the White House said that Trump has great respect for Prime Minister Modi and said the two leaders speak “pretty frequently.”

The White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, while answering a question on India-US ties on Tuesday, said that Trump “feels very positive and strongly” about the bilateral relationship.

“I know the President has great respect for Prime Minister Modi, and they speak pretty frequently.”

On the trade negotiations, Leavitt had revealed that Trump and his team are in “serious discussions” with the Indian side.

”The President and his trade team continue to be in very serious discussions with India with respect to that topic,” she added.

She also highlighted last month’s Diwali event at the White House and the appointment of Sergio Gor as the next US Ambassador, as evidence of the US President’s commitment to the relationship with India.

“He recently, a few weeks back, spoke to Prime Minister directly when he celebrated in the Oval Office, Diwali, with many high-ranking Indian American officials here at the White House. We have a great US Ambassador to India in Mr. Sergio Gor, who will represent our country very well,” she noted.

On October 21, Trump hosted a special Diwali event at the White House, where he termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi “a great person” and said he loves “the people of India.”

IANS