‘I love India, give my regards to PM Modi,’ Trump tells Sushma Swaraj

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump warmly greeted external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj at an event flagging off high-level meetings of the UN General Assembly on Monday and asked her to pass on his regards to his “friend” Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I love India, give my regards to my friend PM Modi,” Trump told Swaraj at the conclusion of a conference on “The world’s drug problem”, according to officials. Trump chaired the conference that was co-hosted by India and several other countries worried by the spread of drugs.

They met as Trump was leaving. The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, introduced Swaraj to Trump. His remarks came in response to Swaraj telling him she had brought greetings from Modi.

In his remarks on the drug problem, Trump said, “It's vital for public health and national security that we fight drug addiction and stop all forms of trafficking and smuggling that provide the financial lifeblood for vicious transnational cartels.

“We are likewise grateful to our 31 co-host countries. Each of you is taking critical steps to combat the global drug problem.”

Trump had chaired a similar meeting in 2017 on UN administration reforms, which India had attended but did not co-host. The conference did not go far enough on reforms to address a longstanding call from India to expand the Security Council to reflect more accurately a new and emerging world order.