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Has great respect for PM Modi, says Donald Trump

The US President also complimented Indian trade negotiators as “the best” and said trade talks between the two countries were moving along.

Has great respect for PM Modi, says Donald Trump

Photo: Twitter (@realDonaldTrump)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he has great respect for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and would be talking to him very soon.

Trump and PM Modi are slated to attend the G-20 Summit in Argentina on November 30 and December 1, where it is likely that the two leaders will hold a meeting. The White House has not made any announcement in this regard so far.

“So please give him my warmest regards. I’ll be talking to him soon. Thank you,” Trump told Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Singh Sarna, during the Diwali celebrations at the White House.

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“He looks forward to seeing you,” Sarna replied.

Trump told the top Indian diplomat, who was a special invitee to the White House Diwali celebrations, that he loves India. “We love your country. I have great, great respect for, as you know, Prime Minister Modi — tremendous respect,” said the US President.

“The United States has deep ties to the nation of India and I am grateful for my friendship with Prime Minister Modi,” he added.

During his presidential campaign, Trump had praised PM Modi for the economic and bureaucratic reforms in the country. The US president had hosted PM Modi at the White House in June last year.

The US President also complimented Indian trade negotiators as “the best” and said trade talks between the two countries were moving along.

“We are trying very hard to make better trade deals with India,” he said during the celebrations.

Showing the trade negotiators as highly skilled and making the talks sound difficult for the Americans, he said, “They are very good traders, they are very good negotiators.” And turning to India’s Ambassador Navtej Sarna, he said, “You would say (that), right?”

They are “the best,” and “so we are working and it is moving along,” he added. He added that the Indian-American community was a “plus plus for both India and for the United States.”

The annual celebration was held a week later because Diwali fell on the day after the mid-term elections when the results were still coming in.

Last month Trump had denounced India as the “tariff king” and asserted that he had spoke to Modi, who told him that he would reduce the tariffs on imports from the US.

Trump has made the US trade deficit a focus of his presidency, imposing heavy taxes on a range of Chinese imports, threatening other countries over trade and renegotiating trade agreements with Mexico and Canada.

 

The total value of US-India goods and services trade last year was $126.2 billion and the US ran a $27.3 billion deficit.

Earlier this year, Trump announced tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum imported from India and other countries.

New Delhi has threatened retaliatory duties on US agricultural products it imports like nuts and apples, as well as some chemicals.

In one concession to a pet peeve of Trump, India dropped the duties on Harley Davidson motorcycles from 75 percent to 50 percent.

 

(With inputs from agencies)

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