Washington

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump shared a hug as the latter welcomed the former at the White House on Thursday (local time). As the two leaders warmly greeted each other and shook hands, Trump said, "We missed you, we missed you a lot."

PM Modi told Trump that he ‘is delighted to see him back at the White House for a second term and expressed confidence that the two countries will continue to advance India-US strategic partnership with the "same bond, trust and excitement".

During a joint presser at the White House, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India and the US have set a USD 500 billion target for bilateral trade by 2023 and added that the teams of two nations will work together to finalise a mutually beneficial trade agreement.

 PM Modi said, "The people of America are well aware of President Trump's motto 'MAGA - Make America Great Again.' The people of India too are focusing on heritage and development as they move forward at a fast pace and with a firm resolve towards the goal of Viksit Bharat 2047.

PM Modi posted images of the meeting and also a post on X:

President Trump often talks about MAGA.

In India, we are working towards a Viksit Bharat, which in American context translates into MIGA.

And together, the India-USA have a MEGA partnership for prosperity!@POTUS @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/i7WzVrxKtv

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 14, 2025

He announced that India and the US are moving forward in the direction of joint development, joint production and transfer of technology. He said that the partnership and cooperation between India and the US together can shape a better world.

"We will strengthen oil and gas trade to ensure India's energy security. In the energy infrastructure, investment will increase. In the nuclear energy sector, we spoke about deepening our cooperation, in the direction of small modular reactors. America plays a key role in India's defence preparedness. As strategic and trusted partners, we are actively moving forward in the direction of joint development, joint production and transfer of technology. In the coming days, new technology and equipment will increase our capacity," he said.

US President introduced PM Modi to other officials, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff shared a picture of PM Modi and Trump on X. While sharing the picture on X, Dan Scavino stated, "Behind Scenes in the West Wing lobby -- @POTUS Trump welcomes Prime Minister @NarendraModi of India to the @WhiteHouse."

The Indian delegation including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and India's Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra arrived at the White House soon after PM Modi's arrival.

Trump inviting PM Modi in the third week of regime change in the USA is significant.

Since November 2024, PM Modi and Trump have spoken on the phone twice

Ahead of his meeting with Trump at the White House, PM Modi held bilateral meetings with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Indian-origin entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard.

PM Narendra Modi said India is willing to take back its nationals if they live illegally in the United States and laid emphasis on the need to finish the "ecosystem" of human trafficking.

PM Modi also expressed confidence that President Donald Trump will fully cooperate with India in finishing this ecosystem.

"Those who stay in other countries illegally do not have any legal right to be there. As far as India and the US are concerned, we have always said that those who are verified and are truly the citizens of India - if they live in the US illegally, India is ready to take them back," PM Modi said, answering a query at the joint press conference with President Trump after their bilateral talks.

He said most of the people staying illegally are from ordinary families and are misguided by human traffickers.

"But it doesn't stop just there for us. These are people from ordinary families. They are shown big dreams and most of them are such who are misled and brought here. So, we should attack this entire system of human trafficking. Together, it should be the effort of the US and India to destroy such an ecosystem from its roots so that human trafficking ends...Our bigger fight is against that entire ecosystem, and we are confident that President Trump will fully cooperate with India in finishing this ecosystem," he added.

Trump seemingly offered to mediate an end to the border skirmishes between India and China, saying they were "quite violent" and he said he hoped the two countries as well as the US and Russia, arch-rivals for decades "can get along".

Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a wide variety of issues in a joint news briefing following their talks, from trade differences and agreements to defence and ongoing international conflicts chief the Russia-Ukraine war.

"I would hope," he went on to say, "China and India and Russia and us and all of us can get along. It's very important. You know, the power of weaponry today is and not only nuclear but nuclear in particular, the power of weaponry is very important."

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President Trump also announced the handing over of Tahawwur Rana, whose extradition to India for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks was recently cleared by the US Supreme Court.