India appears confident about Trump 2.0

Trump's return to "Namaste Trump" rally in Ahmedabad symbolized greater affinity between the oldest and the largest democracies in the world.

- CHINTAMANI MAHAPATRA

Differences over trade, tariff and investment issues remained but failed to derail the US-India strategic partnership strenuously built since the early years of the 21st century.

Seen in a broader geopotrade and commerce in the region. The joint statement reiterated the shared commitments of the Quad member countries to uphold the "rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty and territorial integrity" in the Indo-Pacific and cautioned against changing the status quo by "coercive means." Third, Indian industrialist Mukesh Ambani not only attended the pre-inauguration ceremony and the Church Service at St. John's of President Trump but also had the opportunity to be in a meeting between the US President and the industrialists from various countries.

This meeting was crucial to build cooperative ties with the US administration in I the White House litical perspective, Trump view of the fact that US forT after a four-year interregnum threatens to upend international political, economic and strategic landscape to a much larger degree than what happened during the first term of Donald Trump as the American President.

In an interdependent world, what the sole superpower does affects all regions of the world to varying degrees. Trump's tough stand on China, launching an economic cold war against China's trade practices, revival of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue among the US, India, Japan and Australia, strong stand against Pakistan-sponsored terrorist activities coincided with robust growth in USIndia's defence and security cooperation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's summit meeting with President Donald Trump in the United States and "Howdy Modi" rally in Houston and reciprocal visit of President Trump to India and a 1.0 administration's policies towards South Asia and the Indo-Pacific region were by and large in keeping with the national interests of India.