File photo
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Donald Trump held a telephone conversation on Thursday and reviewed the progress of the India–US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. Both leaders expressed satisfaction with the steady strengthening of bilateral cooperation across a broad range of areas.According to an official statement, the two leaders discussed ways to sustain momentum in efforts to enhance bilateral trade. They also exchanged views on expanding cooperation in critical technologies, energy, defence and security, and other priority sectors linked to the implementation of the India–US COMPACT (Catalyzing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce and Technology) for the 21st century.PM Modi and Trump also spoke about key regional and global developments. They agreed to work closely to address shared challenges and advance common interests in the evolving geopolitical landscape.The two leaders agreed to remain in touch as both sides continue to deepen the strategic partnership.The conversation between both leaders takes place days after Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in New Delhi for a high-stakes two-day summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was Putin’s first state visit to India since the Ukraine war began in February 2022.During the Russian president’s visit, a carpooling picture of PM Modi and Putin even found a place at the US Congress discussion on India-US ties.”This poster is worth a thousand words,” said US representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove, pointing towards the image, as she went on to slam the Donald Trump administration’s foreign policy towards India.
“Trump’s policies towards India can only be described as cutting our nose to spite our face… Being a coercive partner has a cost. And this poster is worth a thousand words,” she said.”You do not get a Nobel Peace Prize by driving US strategic partners into the arms of our adversaries,” Dove said in a pointed attack at Trump’s demands for the peace prize for what he has repeatedly claimed for having stopped eight wars, including India and Pakistan.”We must move with incredible urgency to mitigate the damage that this administration has done to the US-India partnership and return to the cooperation that is essential to US prosperity, security, and global leadership,” she added.These comments were delivered during the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia’s hearing on ‘The US-India Strategic Partnership: Securing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific’.Trump has already slapped 50% tariffs on most Indian exports in August 2025 amid wider trade tensions and worries over India’s imports of Russian oil.A US trade delegation was in India on December 10–11 for discussions that have so far made little headway. The talks have been bogged down by disputes over market access and tariff policies, further straining the trade relationship.
