First in 16 months: Modi and Trump exchange pleasantries amid strained India-U.S. ties
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump exchanged pleasantries and held a brief conversation on Tuesday at a gathering of G7 leaders, marking
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump exchanged pleasantries and held a brief conversation on Tuesday at a gathering of G7 leaders, marking their first in-person encounter in 16 months amid continuing strain in bilateral ties. In Evian-les-Bains, the site of this year's summit of the powerful grouping, Mr. Modi and Mr. Trump shared a warm handshake followed by a short conversation. A full bilateral sit-down is slated for Wednesday (June 17, 2026) on the sidelines of the gathering. G7 Summit Day 1 updates on June 16, 2026 While details of their brief exchange were not known, the encounter sets the stage for their high-stakes talks. The two leaders last met in-person at the White House in February 2025, weeks after Mr. Trump’s second inauguration. Following U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to India last month, the two sides were now looking at rebuilding the bilateral ties. The relations witnessed a major downturn after Washington imposed punitive tariffs on India and President Trump made controversial assertions regarding his role in de-escalating the India–Pakistan military clashes last May. Over the next few months, the U.S. President repeatedly and publicly claimed that he had resolved the military conflict between the two neighbours and saved millions of lives as it was heading toward a full-scale war.
New Delhi stoutly maintained that the cessation of the hostilities was A result of talks between India and Pakistan, and the US involvement had nothing to do with it. Washington's new immigration policy and its decision to increase the H1B visa fee also contributed to the slide in India-U.S. ties. However, both sides made efforts in the last few months to repair the ties and even moved forward to firm up a mutually beneficial trade deal soon. Last week, the relations came under fresh strain after three Indian sailors were killed following the US military's attacks on three merchant vessels off the coast of Oman. Three Indians from one of the vessels were killed in the strikes following which New Delhi summoned the U.S. charge d'affaires Jason Meeks and told him that the American military’s “lethal and deadly” strikes on commercial vessels with Indian crew members is “unacceptable”. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also raised the issue with Rubio. The US Central Command said it initiated action to disable three vessels — Marivex on June 8, Settebello on June 9 and MT Jalveer on June 11 saying they were trying to violate the US blockade of Iranian ports.
The BriefWire