He is a much tougher negotiator than me, and he is a much better negotiator than me. There is not even a contest Donald Trump, US President

* Step towards joint production and transfer of technology in defence

* India and US will together work on AI, chips, quantum technologies

* Will focus on recovery and processing of lithium and rare earth minerals

* Have decided to launch an autonomous industry systems alliance

metro india news  I hyderabad

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump addressed the media at the White House following the bilateral talks between the two world leaders. The much awaited Modi-Trump meeting was business-like with niceties exchanged and Trump showering praise ‘I am thrilled to welcome my friend PM Modi. He is a special man’ and also presenting a book “Our Journey Together.” Soon it was business talk and both sides agreed to negotiate a trade deal and finalise a new defence framework.

 In an ambitious move, India and the US agreed to conclude the first phase of a mutually beneficial ambitious trade pact by this year and set a target of USD 500 billion in annual bilateral trade by 2030.

Trump wants India to buy more oil from US

India, US announce plans to negotiate first phase of trade deal this year Issues relating to trade and tariffs figured extensively in a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump that took place hours after the US President announced a new reciprocal tariff policy for all the trading partners of the US.

At a joint media briefing with Modi, Trump announced that he and Modi agreed on a deal that would facilitate India to import more US oil and gas to bring down Washington’s trade deficit with New Delhi.

India may import $25 billion worth of US crude, LNG in near term, says Foreign Secy. In 2024, India purchased 15 billion dollars in energy products (US crude and LNG) from the US and this may well go up to 25 billion dollar worth of energy imports from US in the near future.

"We have, I think, some very big things to talk about. Number 1 is, they are going to be purchasing a lot of our oil and gas. We have more oil and gas than any other country in the world. They need it, and we have it,” the US President said in his opening address with Indian Prime Minister Modi.

Trump offers F35 fighter jets to India

US will increase military sales to India by billions of dollars including sale of F35 fighter jets. A new defence cooperation framework, including joint production, transfer of technology, interoperability, logistics, and maintenance, for the next decade will be signed.

Checkmate China

In what can be termed as a strong bipartisanship, India and US plan to checkmate China’s belt and road initiative.  Both countries have reiterated their commitment to the IMEC (India-Middle East Economic Corridor) and the I2U2 (India-Israel, US-UAE) initiatives. “Under the IMEC and I2U2, we will work together for the development of economic corridors and in the area of connectivity,” PM Narendra Modi said at the joint press conference with President Donald Trump.

On Russia-Ukraine conflict

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed US President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine, insisting that a solution to the conflict cannot be found on the battlefield and that dialogue and diplomacy is the only way to bring peace. Modi said India has not been neutral on the war and that it is on the side of peace.

“I have always been in close contact with Russia and Ukraine. I have met the leaders of both countries. The world somehow feels India has been neutral, but I want to reiterate that India has not been neutral,” he said at a joint media briefing with Trump.

Trump announced the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, an accused in the 2008 terror attacks. Also expressed solidarity with India in fighting radical Islamic terrorism together. The civil nuclear deal changed India’s overall engagement with the US as it paved the way for building the bonds of a strategic partnership, especially in areas of high technology and defence.

“The leaders announced their commitment to fully realise the US-India 123 Civil Nuclear Agreement by moving forward with plans to work together to build US-designed nuclear reactors in India through large-scale localisation and possible technology transfer,” according to a joint statement.