President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met at the White House on Thursday to strengthen the relationship between the nations, including increased military sales, energy agreements and a new trade route.
“There is truly a special bond between the United States and India, the world’s oldest democracy, the world’s largest democracy, and I believe, the world’s largest country in terms of the numbers of people,” Mr. Trump said in a joint press conference with Mr. Modi in the East Room.
Mr. Trump announced a “framework to strengthen those ties” and increased military sales to India “by many billions of dollars,” and a plan to provide India with stealth fighters. He announced a new trade route that will run from “India to Israel to Italy and onward to the United States, connecting our partners by ports, railways and undersea cables.”
“The United States and India will be working together like never before to confront the threat of radical Islamic terrorism, the threat all over the world,” Mr. Trump said.
The president announced the extradition from the U.S. of Tahawwur Rana, who is accused of helping carry out the 2008 Mumbai, India, terror attack that killed 175 people.
He also announced a reduction in “India’s unfair very strong tariffs that limit U.S. access into the Indian market.” Earlier Thursday, Mr. Trump signed an order calling for reciprocal tariffs on countries that impose them on the U.S.
SEE ALSO: Trump says U.S. will increase military sales to India, may provide stealth jets
Mr. Trump and Mr. Modi have had a friendly relationship, though Mr. Trump has slammed the Indian leader on his tariffs. On the campaign trail in September, Mr. Trump called India “a very big abuser” on tariffs. During his first administration he referred to India as “tariff king.”
The U.S. is India’s largest trading partner, with the U.S. importing $45.7 billion more from India than it exported there in 2024, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. And U.S. imports from India accounted for about 2.7% of all imported goods last year.
During Mr. Trump’s first administration, he visited India in 2020, where he was cheered at a cricket stadium. The year before, Mr. Trump held a Howdy Modi rally with the Indian prime minister in Houston.
Mr. Trump said the two leaders reached an energy agreement that “will restore the United States as a leading supplier of oil and gas to India.”
“This will bring safe, clean and affordable electricity to millions of Indians, and tens of billions of dollars to the U.S. civilian nuclear industry in India,” he said, adding that they also spoke about artificial intelligence advancements.
Mr. Modi thanked Mr. Trump for welcoming him to the White House and talked highly of the renewed relationship.
SEE ALSO: Trump defends reciprocal tariffs as he warns India of U.S. levies
“President Trump’s leadership has been instrumental in nurturing India — U.S. ties and making them vibrant,” Mr. Modi said by way of translator. “I could feel today the same enthusiasm, the same energy, the same commitment that we had worked with during our first term.”
He said there was a “deep mutual trust” between the two countries and that they both have the “resolve to attain new goals.”
He adopted the “Make America Great Again” slogan as his own, saying India is working to “Make India Great Again.”
“When America and India work together, that is when it’s MAGA plus MIGA. It becomes mega — a mega partnership for prosperity,” he said.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Modi set a target of doubling bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 and discussed a forthcoming mutually beneficial trade agreement.
Mr. Modi said the U.S.-India relationship can “shape a better world.”
He said the two countries are working together to fight against terrorism, and announced new consulates in Los Angeles and Boston.
Mr. Modi and Mr. Trump conferred in the Oval Office ahead of the joint press conference. Mr. Modi congratulated Mr. Trump on winning the November election. Mr. Modi is the fourth official world leader to meet with Mr. Trump in his second administration.
The Indian leader has been in Washington since Wednesday, and met with newly sworn-in Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. He had previously met with Vice President J.D. Vance in France at the global conference on artificial intelligence.
Mr. Modi also met with Elon Musk, one of Mr. Trump’s top allies and head of the Department of Government Efficiency, ahead of meeting with the president.
In an X post he said the meeting with Mr. Musk was “very good.”
“We discussed various issues, including those he is passionate about such as space, mobility, technology and innovation,” he said. “I talked about India’s efforts towards reform and furthering ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance.’”
In another post, he said he met with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, calling the meeting “fruitful.”
“He has always been a great friend of India. Defense, technology and security are important aspects of India-USA ties and we had a wonderful discussion around these issues,” he said. “There is strong potential for cooperation in sectors like AI, semiconductors, space and more.”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.