Modi U.S. visit: Foreign Secretary outlines PM’s schedule; gives no confirmation on Trump meeting

No meeting has been fixed with former U.S. President Donald Trump so far, the government said on Thursday (September 19, 2024), a day after Mr. Trump told a campaign rally that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “coming to meet” him next week. Briefing the media on Mr. Modi’s upcoming visit to the United States from September 21-23, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Mr. Modi would hold separate meetings with U.S. President Joseph Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian PM Anthony Albanese in Wilmington, where he will arrive on Saturday (September 21, 2024) for the Quad summit, and that a number of bilateral meetings had been planned during his visit to New York on Sunday (September 22, 2024) and Monday (September 23, 2024). 

“I think we first need to work our way through to fixing a meeting and then look at the issues,” Mr. Misri said, when asked about Mr. Trump’s announcement on the meeting, in which the former American President had said that India was a “big abuser” of trade policies, but that Mr. Modi was a “fantastic, fantastic man”.  Sources said the logistics for a meeting between the two leaders, who were seen as very close during Mr. Trump’s tenure as President (2017-2020), were difficult given the PM’s limited time in the U.S. and Mr. Trump’s busy campaign schedule. It would also seem politically partisan for the PM to meet the Republican candidate, unless he also meets the Democratic candidate, the U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.

“There are a number of meetings we are trying to schedule, keeping the time available in mind. So I can’t confirm any specific meeting at present. I will update you in due course,” Mr. Misri said when asked about the meeting with Mr. Trump, and also replying to questions about a number of leaders arriving in New York next week for the Summit of the Future and the UN General Assembly. 

When asked if Mr. Modi would present a proposal for peace-making on the Russia-Ukraine conflict after his visits to Moscow and Kyiv, Mr. Misri said that conversations on “India’s role as a peacemaker... in a position to propose a peace formula, either with bilateral partners or on a multilateral platform,” were still a “work-in progress”.

“We are involved in a set of several conversations with several important partners and leaders at this point in time,” Mr. Misri said, deflecting a question on whether Mr. Modi would meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy next week in New York. He also declined to comment on whether meetings with Bangladesh Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu were being scheduled.

The PM will fly directly from Delhi on Saturday morning to reach Wilmington, Delaware in time for his bilateral meetings and the Quad summit. The Foreign Secretary said that the Quad meet would take stock of Indo-Pacific initiatives thus far, and would also see India’s documents of ratification being handed over for the “over-arching” Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) Agreement. However, India will remain out of the trade pillar of the IPEF, given concerns over its insistence on labour and human rights standards, which it had voiced when negotiations began in 2022. 

“Work and discussion on the trade pillar continue at this point,” Mr. Misri said, indicating India has yet to accede to the U.S.-led grouping’s joint plans on trade, while the accension to the three pillars on supply chains, clean economy, and fair economy are now complete. Mr. Misri did not respond to the U.S. White House’s contention that China’s “aggressive PRC military action, unfair trade practices, tensions over the Taiwan Strait” would be “high on the agenda” for the Quad summit.  

The PM will also participate in a special ‘Cancer Moonshot’ event before leaving for New York, that takes forward a White House initiative to accelerate cancer research by increasing collaboration between the U.S. and global partners. India held the first ‘Cancer Moonshot’ dialogue with the U.S. in August this year.

In New York, he will address a diaspora event called ‘Modi & US: Progress Together’ meet with CEOs and business leaders from technology companies, and address the UN Summit of the Future on Tuesday afternoon, before leaving the U.S.