NEW DELHI: Indian and US diplomats are trying to arrange a meeting in February between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US 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 US 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.
Trump’s return to the White House has raised worries among officials in New Delhi about imposition of tariffs on India, which he has listed as one of the countries that has high tariffs on US products and has indicated that he favored reciprocating them.
But the sources said New Delhi was willing to offer some concessions to Washington — although it has not been officially informed of any plans by US to impose reciprocal tariffs — and was also open to offering incentives to attract more US investment in India.
Officials hope that an early meeting between the pair will help get ties off to a positive start in Trump’s new term, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
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.
Laying the groundwork for a new Modi-Trump meeting is also on the agenda of Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who attended Trump’s inauguration on Monday and met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
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 partnership in technology and defense sectors, 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.
Rubio discussed with Jaishankar concerns related to “irregular migration” on Tuesday, the US State Department said.
India and US trying to arrange Modi meeting with Trump next month, sources say
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India and US trying to arrange Modi meeting with Trump next month, sources say
- Washington sees India as a strategic partner of the United States in its efforts to counter its rival China
- Trump’s return to office has raised worries among officials in New Delhi about imposition of tariffs on India
Italian police fire tear gas as protesters clash near Winter Olympics hockey venue
- Police vans behind a temporary metal fence secured the road to the athletes’ village, but the protest veered away, continuing on a trajectory toward the Santagiulia venue
MILAN: Italian police fired tear gas and a water cannon at dozens of protesters who threw firecrackers and tried to access a highway near a Winter Olympics venue on Saturday.
The brief confrontation came at the end of a peaceful march by thousands against the environmental impact of the Games and the presence of US agents in Italy.
Police held off the violent demonstrators, who appeared to be trying to reach the Santagiulia Olympic ice hockey rink, after the skirmish. By then, the larger peaceful protest, including families with small children and students, had dispersed.
Earlier, a group of masked protesters had set off smoke bombs and firecrackers on a bridge overlooking a construction site about 800 meters (a half-mile) from the Olympic Village that’s housing around 1,500 athletes.
Police vans behind a temporary metal fence secured the road to the athletes’ village, but the protest veered away, continuing on a trajectory toward the Santagiulia venue. A heavy police presence guarded the entire route.
There was no indication that the protest and resulting road closure interfered with athletes’ transfers to their events, all on the outskirts of Milan.
The demonstration coincided with US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Milan as head of the American delegation that attended the opening ceremony on Friday.
He and his family visited Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” closer to the city center, far from the protest, which also was against the deployment of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to provide security to the US delegation.
US Homeland Security Investigations, an ICE unit that focuses on cross-border crimes, frequently sends its officers to overseas events like the Olympics to assist with security. The ICE arm at the forefront of the immigration crackdown in the US is known as Enforcement and Removal Operations, and there is no indication its officers are being sent to Italy.
At the larger, peaceful demonstration, which police said numbered 10,000, people carried cardboard cutouts to represent trees felled to build the new bobsled run in Cortina. A group of dancers performed to beating drums. Music blasted from a truck leading the march, one a profanity-laced anti-ICE anthem.
“Let’s take back the cities and free the mountains,” read a banner by a group calling itself the Unsustainable Olympic Committee. Another group called the Association of Proletariat Excursionists organized the cutout trees.
“They bypassed the laws that usually are needed for major infrastructure project, citing urgency for the Games,” said protester Guido Maffioli, who expressed concern that the private entity organizing the Games would eventually pass on debt to Italian taxpayers.
Homemade signs read “Get out of the Games: Genocide States, Fascist Police and Polluting Sponsors,” the final one a reference to fossil fuel companies that are sponsors of the Games. One woman carried an artificial tree on her back decorated with the sign: “Infernal Olympics.”
The demonstration followed another last week when hundreds protested the deployment of ICE agents.
Like last week, demonstrators Saturday said they were opposed to ICE agents’ presence, despite official statements that a small number of agents from an investigative arm would be present in US diplomatic territory, and not operational on the streets.
