Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Washington DC early on Wednesday on a two-day visit to hold high-stakes talks with US President Donald Trump in the face of concerns in India over Washington’s new “America First” trade agenda as well as its policy on immigration.
The prime minister will be hosted by the US President on Thursday in what would be the first bilateral talks between the two leaders after Trump assumed the presidency for a second term last month.
With Trump’s tariff policy sending shockwave across the world, Modi’s key priority is likely to be to pre-empt any punitive trade action by Washington against India.
People closely tracking India-US ties said there is a possibility of both sides exploring the option of looking at a trade pact to avoid high tariffs and expand the overall trade basket.