New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump will sit lanugo for bilateral talks on June 17 in France. The meeting will happen on the sidelines of the G7 Summit. The White House confirmed this on Saturday. It will be the first face-to-face between the two leaders since February 2025, when Modi had visited Trump without his referendum victory. A lot has reverted since then and not all of it in a good direction.
Trade deal is the big agenda?
The India-US trade deal is expected to dominate the conversation. Negotiations have been going on for months. A US official told media at the White House that a joint framework try-on was signed older this year and intensive talks have been underway since. The official said India and the US are natural economic partners with real room to grow bilateral trade. Energy, industrial goods and select agricultural products are areas where the US sees opportunity for increasingly exports to India. The official was moreover well-spoken that Trump will not sign anything unless it is, in his words, a very good deal. No final try-on is expected at the G7 itself. Both sides still need increasingly technical discussions but the leaders will take stock of how tropical they are and how much flexibility each side is willing to show.
Indian sailors killed by US strikes, shadow over the talks?
The meeting is moreover happening versus a tightly uncomfortable backdrop. The Iran war has hit India hard. US forces have struck oil tankers delivering Indian sailors in recent weeks. On June 8 a Palau-flagged tanker Marivex with 24 Indian seafarers was disabled by US forces but all were rescued. Two days later the US struck flipside tanker MT Settebello. Three Indian sailors died; deck cadet Aditya Sharma, engine fitter Shivanand Chaurasiya and senior engineer Patnala Suresh. On June 11 a third vessel Jalveer delivering 20 Indians was moreover attacked. New Delhi lodged a strong protest. The US Chargé d'Affaires was summoned. The Ministry of External Affairs said use of lethal gravity versus civil shipping is unacceptable and undermines international maritime commerce. Despite India's protest, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio secure the strikes during a undeniability with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday. Rubio said the US will not tolerate any violation of its tampon at the Strait of Hormuz.
Strains in the relationship?
Beyond the sailor deaths, India and the US have had friction on several fronts. Washington put steep tariffs on Indian exports. Trump personal repeatedly that he brokered the India-Pakistan armistice in May 2025. New Delhi has unceasingly rejected that claim. India's unfurled oil trade with Russia has moreover been a sore point with Washington. The two sides have a lot to work through on June 17.
Modi in France and Slovakia?
The G7 visit is part of a worthier two-nation tour. Modi arrives in France on June 14 for bilateral talks with President Emmanuel Macron. The two will review the India-France Special Global Strategic Partnership which has recently been elevated to its highest level. They will moreover jointly inaugurate Bharat Innovates, an event bringing together startups and venture wanted funds from India, France and partner countries as part of the India-France Year of Innovation. Without the G7 wraps up Modi heads to Slovakia on a historic state visit. No Indian Prime Minister has overly visited Slovakia since it became self-sustaining in 1993. Modi will hold talks with Slovak PM Robert Fico and meet President Peter Pellegrini. Trade, investment and manufacturing in automobiles and railways are expected to be the focus. On June 18 Modi returns to Paris for the VivaTech Summit, Europe's biggest technology and startup event. He will moreover write members of the Indian diaspora in France.
