Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India has been invited to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington next week, a White House official said Monday night.
The official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the official visit, did not provide further details.
Trump announced late last month that he would host the Indian premier. “I had a long talk with him this morning and he’s going to be coming to the White House in the next month, probably in February,” Trump told reporters.
On Tuesday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment on the meeting. Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the ministry, had last week said “the two sides are working on an early visit of prime minister to the US to further deepen” their partnership.
Although the two leaders had warm relations during the first Trump administration, the ties between their countries have come under strain.
Late last year, the US Justice Department announced bribery charges against Indian tycoon and Modi ally Gautam Adani. The Biden administration also charged an Indian official with attempting to orchestrate a foiled plot to assassinate an American citizen in New York.
Modi, however, has over recent weeks moved to head off any US-Indian clash over trade, delivering a rapid series of concessions to the White House.
India’s latest accommodation came on Saturday, when Modi’s government unveiled the first-ever overhaul to its tariff regime, which included sweeping cuts to duties on imports from textiles to motorcycles. It follows New Delhi’s pledge to accept thousands of unlawful migrants from the US and maintain the US dollar as its trading currency.
