Former US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his upcoming visit to the United States next week.
Trump, who is campaigning for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, made the announcement while addressing supporters in Michigan.
“He happens to be coming to meet me next week,” Trump said, describing PM Modi as a “fantastic” leader. He praised several world leaders, adding, “These people are the sharpest. They’re at the top of their game and they use it against us. But India, they’re very tough.”
Prime Minister Modi is set to visit the United States from September 21 to 23, where he will attend the fourth Quad Leaders’ Summit hosted by President Joe Biden in Delaware on September 21. The Quad, which includes the United States, India, Australia, and Japan, is focused on enhancing cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
In addition to the Quad Summit, PM Modi will address the ‘Summit of the Future’ at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23. The event will center on multilateral solutions for global challenges. He is also expected to address the Indian-American community in New York on September 22 and meet with top executives from US-based companies to explore collaboration in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and biotechnology.
The upcoming meeting will be the first between PM Modi and Trump since February 2020, when the then-US President visited India and was welcomed with the ‘Namaste Trump’ event in Ahmedabad, which also featured the inauguration of the world’s largest cricket stadium. PM Modi and Trump last shared a stage in 2019 at the “Howdy, Modi!” rally in Houston, Texas.
(Inputs from ANI)