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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump exchanged pleasantries and spoke briefly at the G7 Summit in France on Tuesday, marking the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders in 16 months.
The two leaders were seated next to each other for an outreach session of the G7 Summit being held at the resort of Evian-les-Bains. Footage beamed from the venue showed Modi walking over to Trump, who was seated. They shook hands, and Trump rose from his chair to talk to Modi for a short while. Modi smiled as Trump patted him on the arm. The two leaders last met in Washington in February last year, though they have spoken on thephone several times since then.
The two leaders last met in Washington in February last year, though they have spoken on the phone several times since then.
There was no immediate official word from either the Indian or the American side about the conversation. Modi and Trump are expected to hold a bilateral meeting on the margins of the summit on Wednesday.
Before the outreach session, Modi joined the leaders of G7 states and partner countries invited for the summit – Brazil, Egypt, Kenya and South Korea – for a “family photo”. Footage showed Modi exchanging pleasantries with European Council President Antonio Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Modi was received by French President Emmanuel Macron upon his arrival in Evian, with whom he held bilateral talks over the weekend during the first leg of his tour of Europe. Modi had then travelled to Slovakia for the second leg of his visit.
India and the US are currently working to reset their ties after a year of strains not witnessed in the past two decades, triggered by the US President’s trade and tariff policies, and the Modi-Trump meeting on Wednesday will be closely watched for signs of a breakthrough.
Trump hit Indian exports with 50% tariffs, including a punitive levy over Russian oil purchases. The US leader’s frequent claims about ending a four-day conflict between India and Pakistan in May 2025 and his growing proximity to Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir added to the strains.
Modi and Trump unveiled an understanding on a framework for a trade deal, including the slashing of US tariffs, in February and the US Trade Representative is set to visit New Delhi next week to take forward talks on the agreement.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio visited India last month for talks with external affairs minister S Jaishankar and to participate in a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting. However, bilateral ties came under a cloud again when the US Navy carried out strikes on three merchant vessels with Indian crew members in waters off Oman, killing three Indian seafarers last week.
Rezaul H Laskar is the Foreign Affairs Editor at Hindustan Times. His interests include movies and music.
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