Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Japan's Osaka, their first meeting after PM Modi's reelection in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. PM Modi and Mr Trump touched upon a range of issues, including various bilateral and global issues including trade, defence, Iran and 5G communications networks. The one-on-one talks were held after PM Modi, Mr Trump and Shinzo Abe met for the Japan-America-India trilateral.
"We have become great friends and our countries have never been closer. I can say that with surety. We will work together in many ways including military, we''ll be discussing trade today," Donald Trump said as he sat down with PM Modi. The Prime Minister's bilateral meet with Mr Trump is crucial as the two nations seek to make a breakthrough in their ongoing trade dispute. New Delhi had slapped tariffs on 28 US products earlier this month in response to Washington withdrawing its long-standing trade concessions to India on June 1.
Soon after the meeting with Donald Trump, PM Modi held a meeting with BRICS leaders and spoke about strengthening WTO, fighting protectionism, ensuring energy security and the need to work together to fight terrorism.
The G20 is an international financial forum comprising 19 nations and the European Union. It focuses on pressing financial and economic issues, seeking to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any one organisation.
