After 4-yr pause: Trump, Modi rekindle bonhomie

When Donald Trump greeted Narendra Modi with a warm hug at the entrance of West Wing on Thursday evening eastern, the American President told the Indian Prime Minister, "We have missed you. We have missed you a lot."

- Prashant Jha

WASHINGTON:

When Trump gifted Modi a book, titled Our Journey Together, he showed him various images of them together, especially from their public rallies in Ahmedabad and Houston, and inscribed a note, "Mr Prime Minister, You are Great!" Trump had captioned the pictures, describing Modi in many of them as his friend, and showing off the crowd size, a detail close to his heart, and clearly one of the reasons he respects the Prime Minister is his ability to attract masses.

And when Trump took the stage to introduce Modi to the White House press corps and live audiences across the world, he said, "I am thrilled to welcome the Prime Minister of India, my friend, Narendra Modi, back to the White House. We spent a lot of time here and a lot of time in India, and he is a very special man. Prime Minister, it is a pleasure to extend to you the same hospitality that you showed Melania and myself when we travelled to your beautiful country five years ago." Trump added that it was hard to believe that it was that long ago, for it seemed like it was only yesterday and recalled the world's largest cricket stadium, a reference to the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.