NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to come face to face with President Donald Trump at the G7 summit that France will host from June 15 to 17, with both India and the US having confirmed the leaders' participation in the meeting. However, while both sides are said to be looking at the possibility of an engagement on the margins, no meeting has been finalized yet.
Modi's Bilateral Meetings
Modi is expected to have bilateral meetings with other G7 leaders too, including host Emmanuel Macron. Modi and Trump have not had a meeting since the former's visit to the US in February 2025, weeks after the latter's return to the White House.
Strained Ties and Improvement
Ties went south soon after because of differences over a range of issues, including trade, India's continued purchase of Russian oil, and Trump's repeated claims about having ended the India-Pakistan conflict last year. While some of those differences are yet to be entirely resolved, things seem to be improving with Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to India last month, which saw him extending an invitation on behalf of Trump to Modi to visit the US. India has so far not said publicly that the PM has accepted the invitation.
Upcoming Summits and Trade Talks
Modi is likely to travel to Florida for the G20 summit in December. The two sides are in the middle of another round of talks to finalize the bilateral trade agreement they have been discussing for over a year.
