President Trump and Prime Minister Modi last met in Washington in February last year, although they have spoken on the phone several times since then.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump exchanged pleasantries and spoke briefly at the G7 summit in France on Tuesday, the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in 16 months.
The two leaders sat next to each other in a communication session for the G7 summit held at the Evian-les-Bains resort. Footage broadcast from the scene showed them shaking hands and smiling as they spoke for a short time.
The two leaders last met in Washington in February last year, although they have spoken on the phone several times since then.
There was no immediate official comment from the Indian or American side regarding the conversation. Modi and Trump are expected to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit on Wednesday.
Before the awareness session, Modi joined leaders of G7 countries and partner countries invited to the summit – Brazil, Egypt, Kenya and South Korea – for a ‘family photo’. The footage showed Modi exchanging pleasantries with European Council President Antonio Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
French President Emmanuel Macron received Modi upon his arrival in Evian, where he held bilateral talks with him over the weekend during the first leg of his European tour. Modi then traveled to Slovakia on the second leg of his visit.
India and the United States are currently working to reset their relations after a year of tensions not seen in the past two decades, sparked by the US President’s trade and tariff policies, and Modi-Trump’s meeting on Wednesday will be closely watched for signs of a thaw.
Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian exports, including a punitive tax on purchases of Russian oil. Adding to the tensions were the US President’s repeated claims about ending the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan in May 2025 and his growing closeness to Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Modi and Trump unveiled an understanding on the framework of a trade agreement, including a reduction in US tariffs, in February, and the US Trade Representative is scheduled to visit New Delhi next week to move forward with talks on the agreement.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited India last month to hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and participate in the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting. However, bilateral relations came under a cloud again when the US Navy carried out strikes on three merchant ships with Indian crew members on board in the waters off Oman, killing three Indian sailors last week.
Rezul H Laskar is Foreign Affairs Editor of Hindustan Times. His interests include films and music.
