Indian president vows to work closely with the US

INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to work closely with Donald Trump yesterday, after the new US president invited him to Washington – seeking to ensure that an upturn in ties survives the change at the White House.

After their first phone call this week since Trump’s inauguration, they said they had had a warm conversation and extended mutual invitations to their respective capitals.

But analysts said their two governments could clash on issues such as trade and visas for Indians wanting to work in the US.

Both men said they were keen to build on the recent improvement in ties that began under Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama.

Modi said on Twitter he and Trump had agreed to work closely to further strengthen their ties.

“I have also invited President Trump to visit India,” Modi said after the White House said Washington had extended a similar invitation.

Modi, a Hindu, was effectively barred from the US for years after deadly communal riots in the western state of Gujarat during his time as chief minister. Most of those killed were Muslims.

But after a landslide election win, Modi built a strong rapport with Obama.

A convivial chat in November between Trump and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif caused alarm within Modi’s administration, which has been portraying its rival regime in Islamabad as the “mothership of terrorism”.

But in the phone call, Trump emphasised that the US considered India a friend and partner in addressing global challenges.

The White House said: “They discussed opportunities to strengthen the US-India partnership in areas such as the economy and defence.”

Several analysts have said that Modi and Trump should have a natural affinity as political outsiders who had risen to power, in part, by castigating the traditional ruling elite on a nationalist platform.

Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, described Modi’s victory in India’s 2014 general election as the first phase in a global revolt against the existing order, which culminated with Trump’s victory in November.

But Modi’s flagship “Make In India” policy is designed to fire up India’s manufacturing sector and ramp up exports, a goal that appears at odds with Trump’s protectionist instincts.