Modi and Trump meet briefly at G7 summit in France ahead of bilateral talks

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump met briefly on Tuesday at the G7 leaders' summit in Evian, in eastern France. It was their first face-to-face encounter since their meeting at the White House in February 2025. A structured bilateral meeting was scheduled for Wednesday on the sidelines of the summit.

Sponsored

The encounter comes as India and the United States try to repair ties that were strained in 2025. The supplied material says the strain followed Trump's claims of mediation between India and Pakistan after Operation Sindoor, as well as Washington's decision to impose heavy tariffs on Delhi. The two countries are also said to be working on a bilateral trade deal.

Modi is attending the G7 working meeting with partner countries, the World Bank and the African Development Bank. The summit theme is "Forging new partnerships and rebuilding international solidarity". Officials said India's presence reflects its standing as a leading voice of the Global South and a key partner on shared global challenges.

Modi had also said before travelling that this was the eighth consecutive G7 summit to which India had been invited. The meeting matters because it brings together the leaders of two major powers at a time when trade, strategic ties and wider diplomacy are all under pressure. The brief exchange in Evian may help set the tone for the planned bilateral talks, which are expected to cover the state of the relationship.

Sponsored

The timing is also notable because the summit is taking place against a wider backdrop of global economic and security concerns. The supplied material also places the summit in a broader diplomatic context. Modi was due to meet Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the United Arab Emirates' President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during the same visit.

In February, French President Emmanuel Macron had invited Modi to the G7 summit and to take part in preparatory discussions on global macroeconomic imbalances and a new paradigm for international partnerships and solidarity. What remains unclear from the available material is whether the brief meeting produced any immediate agreement or change in position on tariffs, trade or the wider bilateral dispute. The main next step is the structured meeting scheduled for Wednesday, which is likely to provide a clearer readout of the state of ties.

It is also not yet clear how far the two sides have advanced on the trade deal mentioned in the supplied rows.

#NarendraModi #DonaldTrump #G7summit #IndiaUSrelations #tradedeal

Sponsored