WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump on Thursday ( Feb 13 ) offered to sell state-of-the-art fighter jets to India as he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to ramp up trade, rekindling a bond that defies the new US administration’s punitive approach to much of the world.
Modi described the fellow republican as a companion and said he was going to change the phrase” Make America Great Again,” making him the third world leader to visit the White House since Trump’s profit.
Trump said that he found a” special relationship” with Modi and India and, in an unusual if humorous display of humility, complimented Modi as being a “much tougher mediator” than he is.
In response to rising China, successive US administrations have seen India as a crucial partner with similar interests, and Trump made it clear that the new leadership was prepared to sell one of the best F-35s.
” We’ll get increasing military sales to India by countless billions of dollars starting this time,” Trump said at a joint press conference with Modi.
” We’re even paving the way to eventually provide India with the F-35 cunning fighters”, Trump said.
Trump and Modi agreed that the two nations do work together on a business deal after Trump previously criticized American tariffs.
” In order to maintain India’s energy security, we will focus on business in oil and gas”, Modi said, expecting that a “mutually valuable business deal” had come “very soon”.
Joining Trump’s conference with Modi was SpaceX and Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, who has launched an aggressive efforts as Trump’s right-hand man to reform the US government.
In an encounter that drew questions over whether the richest man in the world was meeting the Indian premier in an official capacity or a business capacity, Musk also had a one-on-one meeting with Modi earlier on Thursday.
The Indian premier posted images of himself shaking hands with the beaming Musk, with Indian officials on one side, and several children on Musk’s side of the room.
Modi later claimed that he had been acquainted with Musk since before he became prime minister.