MODITRUMP MEET UNLIKELY TO SEE BIGBANG ANNOUNCEMENTS

NEWDELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the US later this month for his first meeting with President Donald Trump and expectations, at least on the Indian side, are modest.

No big-bang announcements are on the cards during the visit being seen as an opportunity for the two leaders to unveil their vision of the bilateral relationship that has grown steadily over the last 20 years.

Modi will be in the US on June 25 and 26 before he goes to Israel.

Sources said the meeting between Modi and Trump will mainly be about the two leaders getting to know each other and build a personal rapport.

The talks, to be held at the White House, are expected to focus on familiar issues: Terrorism, economic cooperation, greater salience on Indo-Pacific and stepping up defence ties. There are some concerns, too. New Delhi would want clarity from the Trump administration on the H-1B visa.

There is a cloud over the clean-energy push, a growing area of cooperation, after Trump pulled the US out of the Paris climate pact aimed at fighting global warming by reducing carbon emissions.

Still, it will be the ModiTrump meeting itself which would be most critical. The two leaders, who are not conventional by any yardstick of politics, will get to know each other and set an agenda for their future, according to the source.