Modi, Trump set for first meeting since February amid trade, Iran war concerns

PRime government minister Narendra Modi and US chairwoman Donald ruff testament receive on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian, White House officials told HT on Saturday, hours after the PM departed for a nearly week-long visit to France and Slovakia.The trip, running June 13 to 18, involves bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Nice, a first prime ministerial visit to Slovakia, G7 outreach sessions at Evian, and an appearance at VivaTech in Paris. Defence and security cooperation, trade, technology, the concerns of the Global South, and the fallout of the West Asia conflict on energy security are set to top the agenda.While the bilateral meeting on the margins of the G7 Summit was announced by White House officials, there was no official word from the Indian side. India-US ties were hit this week when three Indian seafarers were killed in a US strike on a Palau-flagged tanker in the waters off Oman. The external affairs ministry summoned the US charge d’affaires twice within three days to protest against the killings, which were also raised by external affairs minister S Jaishankar with his American counterpart Marco Rubio on Friday.In a departure statement, Modi said France “occupies a special place in India’s strategic vision” and that discussions with Macron will focus on enhancing cooperation in key sectors, especially technology.On Sunday, the two leaders will jointly inaugurate Bharat Innovates in Nice — part of the India-France Year of Innovation — connecting Indian startups with global investment and acting as an accelerator for innovations from India’s higher education system. Their bilateral meeting will build on the elevation of ties to a special global strategic partnership in February.From Nice, Modi will travel to Bratislava during June 14-15, becoming the first Indian PM to visit Slovakia since the central European country’s independence in 1993. He will hold talks with President Peter Pellegrini and Prime Minister Robert Fico and meet Slovak business leaders.Modi said the visit would “further energise” India’s strategic partnership with the European Union, of which Slovakia is a member, and build on the momentum of the India-EU free trade agreement, due to be signed by the end of the year.Modi will return to France for the G7 Summit’s outreach sessions at the resort of Evian during June 16-17. India is among five nations — along with Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, and South Korea — invited by host France to participate.“India’s presence at the G7 reflects the trust our partners place in us and our growing global profile,” Modi said. “At the G7, India will not only speak for itself, but it will also give voice to the aspirations of the Global South.”The bilateral with Trump will be held in Evian, according to the White House. If the meeting goes ahead, it will be the first between the two leaders since Modi travelled to Washington in February 2025, and comes at a moment of lingering strains in the relationship. The killing of the Indian seafarers in US strikes has complicated what had been carefully managed ties. The leaders have stayed in contact — speaking eight times by phone since 2025, including a call in February to announce the framework of a trade deal that is yet to be signed, and a 40-minute conversation in April on the US-Iran war.The two were also scheduled to meet at last year’s G7 Summit in Canada before Trump abruptly left the venue to return to Washington. This was followed by a phone call during which Modi made it clear that hostilities between India and Pakistan in May 2025 were halted following an understanding between military officials of the two countries, without any mediation.India is likely to seek greater clarity on the trade deal and Washington’s plans for the Iran war at the Evian meeting.Prior to the fresh tensions this week, persons aware of the matter told HT that the meeting was expected to cover a review of progress on the trade deal and potential fresh announcements on the defence front, including on Javelin missiles, though they did not elaborate. It is unclear how those plans have been affected.The divergence in how both sides have publicly framed recent events is sharp. Jaishankar, describing a conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stressed on the strong protest over the killing of the three seafarers; Washington’s readout, on Saturday, stressed that commercial vessels must “immediately comply with orders from US forces”.State department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said Rubio “underscored that violations of the US blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated.”Modi concludes the visit on June 18 in Paris, attending VivaTech 2026 alongside Macron. India will have the largest pavilion at the major European technology and innovation summit — a presence Modi said reflects the potential for partnership between the Indian and European innovation ecosystems. He also said he looked forward to meeting members of “the vibrant Indian community in Paris, who have been a living bridge between our two nations.”France has set a broad agenda for the G7 Summit, covering macro-economic imbalances, international partnerships, critical mineral supply chains, the protection of minors online, major geopolitical crises, and organised crime. The impact of the West Asia crisis on global trade and energy flows is expected to feature prominently in the outreach sessions.