Will PM Modi meet Trump at ASEAN Summit later this month? Here's what MEA said
Malaysia has conveyed to India that US President Donald Trump will be in Kuala Lumpur from October 26 to 28 to attend the ASEAN and East Asia summits.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday weighed in on a likely meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump during the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia later this month.
The summit will take place from October 26-28 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Speaking at a presser, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said there still time for the ASEAN Summit to take place and related information will be shared at the correct time, hinting that a meeting between the two leaders may happen.
If it happened, this would be the first meeting between PM Modi and Trump since the US president imposed an additional tariffs on Indian imports, taking the total levies to a whopping 50%. Washington citing New Delhi's purchase of Russia oil as the reason, triggering a row as India refused to budge.
Trump to attend ASEAN Summit
Malaysia has conveyed to India that US President Donald Trump will be in Kuala Lumpur from October 26 to 28 to attend the ASEAN and East Asia summits.
Although there has been no formal announcement regarding Prime Minister Modi’s visit, preparations are in progress. The US too has not issued any official statement on Trump’s travel, either from the White House or the State Department.
India-US trade talks
Plans for a possible meeting between PM Modi and President Trump are taking shape as Washington and Delhi have restarted work on a trade deal that had stalled over tariffs. In September, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
After the talks, Rubio called India “a relationship of critical importance” for the US and highlighted trade, defence, energy, pharmaceuticals and critical minerals as priority areas.
Whether Modi and Trump meet in Kuala Lumpur will depend on the progress of the trade negotiations. If the meeting is to take place, both sides face a de facto deadline of October 26 to finalise the deal.
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