G7 summit bilateral: Trump vows US support if India attacked

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday declared that the United States would help India if it came under attack, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi as one of the “world’s toughest negotiators”, and said the two countries were “very close” to reaching a trade agreement, underscoring the growing strategic partnership between Washington and New Delhi.

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The remarks came during a bilateral meeting between Trump and PM Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France’s Evian, where the two leaders discussed trade, regional security, West Asia, maritime security and broader global developments.

Trump repeatedly highlighted the strength of the relationship between the two countries and his personal rapport with the Indian Prime Minister.

“We had in particular some very good conversations with Prime Minister Modi, India,” Trump said at the start of the meeting.

“We're doing trade deals. We're doing a lot of things—a lot of things are happening between the United States and India.”

The US President also pointed to growing Indian investment in America.

“The Prime Minister's building a lot in the United States,” Trump said.

“He's (PM Modi) spending a lot of money in the United States, and we appreciate that.”

PM Modi said that relations had gained momentum since the leaders’ previous meeting in Washington.

“We had an extremely productive meeting in Washington last year, and since then we have given new speed and new energy to our relations,” he added.