Modi meeting Trump soon ‘to get to know him’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed quick, ‘no-frills’ visit to the US on a ‘get to know Trump’ mission from June 25 to 27 is a welcome opportunity to meet with the US President who has had a controversial start to his innings. Considering that India’s arch-rivals Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping have both met Donald Trump in Washington after he assumed office, Modi can ill afford not to call on him at the earliest without waiting for a formal, ceremonial visit. By dint of his position as the occupant of the world’s most powerful position, Trump has a pride of place as a world leader. Whether Modi likes it or not, India and US have perforce to deal with each other on a whole host of bilateral and multilateral issues.

The backdrop for Modi’s meeting is, however, unexciting. Trump has had virtual spats with various international leaders and has had to face turmoil on the domestic front while his predecessors enjoyed a honeymoon period in their initial days in office. Much of this has to do with his own behaviour, attitude and idiosyncrasies. A few days ago even as Trump walked out of the climate accord which his predecessor had signed as a momentous measure, he accused India of extracting “billions and billions and billions” to be part of the pact. This uncharitable remark shocked India no end but this country remained mum on record. The fact is that at the climate talks India and China did pitch for the US to compensate the world for the havoc that the world’s lone superpower had wrought on the world when from 1850 to 2010, US and European CO2 emissions were 10 times those of India’s and China’s but that was perfectly justified.

Modi’s programme in Washington DC is restricted by the fact that there is lack of clarity from the White House about the timing and format of the meeting with the US President. This in itself is very highhanded but because of the nature of India’s relationship with the US, Modi decided to swallow his pride. The two leaders are slated to meet at the G-20 summit in Hamburg on July 7-8 but Modi wanted a one-on-one at the earliest in view of pending strategic and economic issues. One can only keep one’s fingers crossed that the Washington DC meeting would go off well.