India and US trying to arrange early meeting between Modi and Trump, sources say

By Shivam Patel

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian and U.S. diplomats are trying to arrange a February meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, two Indian sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

India, a strategic partner of the United States in its efforts to counter China, is keen to enhance trade relations with the U.S. and make it easier for its citizens to get skilled worker visas, two topics that will be on the agenda if the leaders meet, the sources said.

However, it's not certain the leaders will meet in February. Sources said a bilateral meeting was possible later in the year, including when leaders of the Quad grouping of India, Australia, Japan, and the U.S. meet at an annual summit hosted by India.

The White House said it had no announcements about a possible meeting to share at this time.

Trump's return to the White House has raised worries about the imposition of tariffs on India, a country he said has high tariffs on U.S. products and indicated that he favoured reciprocating them.

But the sources said New Delhi was willing to offer some concessions to Washington and was open to offering incentives to attract more U.S. investment.

Trump visited India in February 2020 during his previous term in office. Then, he was cheered by more than 100,000 Indians at a cricket stadium in Modi's political homeland in Ahmedabad, where he promised India "an incredible trade deal".

In 2019, Trump held a "Howdy Modi" rally with Modi in Houston, drawing 50,000 people, mainly Indian Americans.

The United States is India's largest trading partner and two-way trade between the two countries surpassed $118 billion in 2023/24, with India posting a trade surplus of $32 billion.

Other topics of discussion between the two leaders would be enhancing partnerships in technology and defence, the sources said.

Migration would be another area of discussion, as Trump has pledged a crackdown on illegal immigration but has said he is open to legal migration of skilled workers.

India, known for its massive pool of IT professionals, many of whom work across the world, accounts for the bulk of the skilled worker H-1B visas issued by the United States.

Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who attended Trump's inauguration on Monday, met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and they discussed concerns related to "irregular migration" on Tuesday, the U.S. State Department said.

(Reporting by Shivam Patel in New Delhi; Editing by Alison Williams and Bernadette Baum)