Donald Trump hints at possible visit to India next year

US President Donald Trump has said that he may travel to India next year, adding that discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi are “going good”.

Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office, Trump said, “It’s great, going good. He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) stopped… largely he stopped buying oil from Russia.”

Calling Modi “a friend”, Trump noted that the Indian leader had invited him to visit. “He wants me to go there. We’ll figure that out. I’ll go. I had a great trip there with Prime Minister Modi, he’s a great man. And I’ll be going,” he said. When asked if the trip could happen next year, Trump responded, “It could be, yeah.”

India is set to host leaders from Australia, Japan, and the United States for the next Quad summit in New Delhi, following the 2024 edition held in Wilmington, Delaware. The exact dates for the summit, however, are yet to be announced.

During his remarks, Trump also repeated his earlier claim that he had helped stop hostilities between India and Pakistan through the use of trade measures. “Of the eight wars I ended, I would say five or six were ended because of tariffs,” he said.

“If you take a look at India and Pakistan, they started to fight, they are two nuclear nations. They were shooting each other. Eight planes were shot down. And I said, ‘Listen, if you guys are going to fight, I’m going to put tariffs on you.’ They weren’t happy about that. But within 24 hours, I settled the war.”

Trump described tariffs as a “great national defence”, reiterating his belief that economic leverage can serve as an effective diplomatic tool.

With PTI inputs