New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday congratulated US President Donald J. Trump on being inaugurated for a second term as the leader of America.
This was the first phone call between the two since Trump’s inauguration on 20 January. Modi had earlier spoken to Trump after the presidential election results in November 2024. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar represented India at Trump’s inauguration.
“Delighted to speak with my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump @POTUS. Congratulated him on his historic second term. We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership. We will work together for the welfare of our people and towards global peace, prosperity, and security,” said Modi in a post on social media platform X.
The conversation between the two leaders took place in the backdrop of immigration and potential tariffs emerging as key issues up for discussion between New Delhi and Washington D.C.
Delighted to speak with my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump @POTUS. Congratulated him on his historic second term. We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership. We will work together for the welfare of our people and towards global peace, prosperity,…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 27, 2025
Trump has made repatriation of illegal immigrants a centre piece of his first week in office. Talks surrounding irregular immigration figured during the meeting between Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 21 January. There are roughly 7,25,000 Indians living in the US without proper authorization as of 2022, according to Pew Research Center.
Trump has allowed the US military to assist in the deportation of illegal immigrants from the US, which led to a row with Colombo earlier Sunday.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro did not allow two US military aircrafts to land in the country carrying Colombians removed from the US. Trump threatened Bogotá with tariffs and the US State Department announced visa restrictions and sanctions against the leaders of Colombia for their interference in the repatriation flights.
Colombia eventually announced that the two countries have “overcome the impasse” and accepted repatriation of Colombian nationals including through US military flights.
Till date roughly 900 individuals have been arrested as part of the US administration’s crackdown on illegal immigrants living in the country.
Trump also took aim at China and other Asian countries for their large positive deficits with regards to trade with the US during his speech at the World Economic Forum at the Swiss town of Davos last week.
India is one of the countries with a positive trade balance with the US. In the FY2023-2024 India exported roughly $77.5 billion worth of goods to the US, while imports stood at around $42.1 billion, according to data published by the Indian ministry of commerce and industry.
In the run-up to the presidential election, Trump had raised the issues of tariffs levied by India on American products during his first tenure, mentioning the duties on American motorcycles.
On the issue of illegal immigration, India has agreed to work with the US on the repatriation of unauthorised Indians living in America, provided their nationality is verified.
In October last year, a chartered flight carrying Indians deported from the US landed in Punjab. At the time the US had mentioned that roughly over 1,000 Indians have been repatriated through such flights.
Over 90,000 Indians attempted to cross into the US illegally in 2024. The number, while higher in 2023 when nearly 97,000 Indians attempted to enter the US, indicates a large number of Indian nationals attempting to move to the country through irregular means.
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