Iran, 5G communications, defence and trade on the table during Modi-Trump meet
PM Modi and President Trump met following a trilateral summit with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe Friday morning to discuss Iran, 5G communications, defence and trade.
Trump congratulated Modi on his election victory. His friendly tone contrasted with a tweet he wrote Thursday, in which he called new Indian sanctions on US goods ‘unacceptable’ and said they must be withdrawn.
India had recently raised tariffs on 28 US goods, including almonds, pulses and Harley Davidson motorcycles. Trump also ended preferential trade status for India earlier this month, which had allowed some Indian goods to enter the US duty free.
In 2018, the US had pulled out of the 2015 Iran deal aimed at curbing Iranian nuclear production in exchange for reduced economic sanctions. After re-imposing economic sanctions on Iran, the US issued waivers to some other countries, including India, allowing them to continue purchasing Iranian oil. America, however, revoked these waivers in May, and India complied – halting all purchases of Iranian oil.
Read our explainer on the G20 here.
BRICS leaders meet on sidelines
BRICS leaders – Brazilian President Bolsonaro, Russian President Putin, PM Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa – met on the sidelines of the G20.
Modi called for reformed multilateralism, energy security and access, ease of movement for skilled workers, implementing India’s Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure initiative, and hosting a global conference on countering terrorism.
“Terrorism is the biggest threat to humanity. It not only kills innocents but also severely affects economic development and social stability,” Modi said.
Trump-Putin bilateral meeting
Trump met Putin for the first time since special counsel Mueller alleged that Russia had systematically interfered in US’ election to favour Trump.
The two met briefly with reporters before their bilateral meeting. When Trump was asked whether he would tell Putin not to meddle in the next election, he turned to Putin and wagged his finger, saying: “Don’t meddle in the election.”
Trump cancelled a planned meeting with Putin seven months ago after Russia seized three Ukrainian ships and detained two dozen Ukrainian sailors. Trump had previously said he would not meet Putin until the matter was resolved even though Russia had detained some Ukrainians.
When asked about the ships, Trump said, “We haven’t discussed them.”
Upcoming meetings
The most important meeting of the summit will be the Xi-Trump bilateral meeting. As the ongoing trade war rages, the world hopes to see a temporary truce between the two nations with both sides working out details of the arrangement. A similar truce, lasting for three months, was arrived on at the 2018 G20 Summit in Buenos Aires.
Modi will also hold a trilateral summit with Xi and Putin, which the US will be watching closely. Following friendly relations between India and two of US’s biggest rivals at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Kyrgyzstan, America will want to appease India to ensure it remains on its side. Similarly, India will look to balance its strategic partnerships with the US and China.
Two leaders who have not announced if they will meet are PM Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been frosty of late as South Korea pushes Japan to accept more responsibility for its occupation of Korea. Japanese officials declined to answer questions about why the two leaders have not announced a meeting.