NEW DELHI – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded on Saturday to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent comments on their personal relationship by saying he “deeply appreciates” and “fully reciprocates” Trump’s feelings. Modi called the relationship between India and the U.S. a “very positive and forward-looking comprehensive and global strategic partnership” in a post on X.
Modi’s speech is the first time he has publicly talked about his personal relationship with Trump since the U.S. government put a 50% tariff on Indian goods, which has made trade tensions between the two countries worse. The tariffs were put in place in two steps. The first was a 25% tax, and the second was another 25% levy since India kept buying Russian oil. India has officially said that what the U.S. did was “unjustified” and “unreasonable.”
Trump’s tone changed a lot on Friday from a message he made on social media earlier in the week. He had already said on his site, Truth Social, that the U.S. had “lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China.” This comment came after a lot of attention from the media around the world on how friendly Prime Minister Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Russian President Vladimir Putin were with each other during a recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conference in Tianjin, China.
Trump changed his mind about what he said earlier when he talked to reporters at the White House later. He remarked, “I’ll always be friends with Modi,” even though he was still upset that India buys oil from Russia. He is a wonderful leader. He’s awesome. I really don’t like what he’s doing right now, though. But India and the US have a unique bond. You don’t need to worry. “We just have moments now and then.”
India has not formally responded to Trump’s first comment about “losing to China.” The Prime Minister’s most recent post on X, on the other hand, is a diplomatic message that New Delhi wants to keep a good and positive relationship with Washington even while there are still trade problems.