US President Donald Trump held a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday amid the ongoing trade tensions between New Delhi and Washington, said US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, asking people to 'stay tuned'. The Indian side is, however, yet to issue a statement on this.
"President Trump just spoke with Prime Minister Modi. STAY TUNED," Gor said in an X (previously Twitter) post, without providing details on what the two leaders discussed.
The telephonic conversation between the two leaders come at a time when the relationship between the two sides have been hit over a trade deal and Trump's tariffs against India. Trump, citing the trade imbalance and India's purchase of Russian crude, has imposed a hefty 50 per cent tariff.
However, recently, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a close aide of Trump, had said that Washington may reduce tariffs on New Delhi, as it has reduced its oil imports from Russia. Later, Trump even claimed that India will procure Venezuelan oil, instead of purchasing it from Iran.
"We've already made a deal. India is coming in, and they're going to be buying Venezuelan oil as opposed to buying it from Iran. So, we've already made the concept of the deal," Trump told reporters last week.
EAM Jaishankar's three-day US visit
It should be mentioned here that Trump's telephonic conversation comes on a day when External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar embarked on a three-day visit to the US to attend a ministerial-level meeting on critical minerals supply chain.
During his visit, Jaishankar may also hold bilateral talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which discussions will likely be held on strategic cooperation between New Delhi and Washington, clean energy transitions and other key issues, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said in a statement earlier.
"External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit the United States from February 2 to 5 to participate in the Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. During the visit, the external affairs minister will also hold meetings with senior members of the US administration," it had said.
