The Ministry of External Affairs announced on Friday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken with the President of the United States eight times in 2025. These words were not said in a direct response to the United States’ Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, who earlier stated that Indian Prime Minister Modi did call President Donald Trump. Now, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, has given a statement: “The characterisation of these discussions in the reported remarks is not accurate.”
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on India-US talks
The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a media briefing on Friday said, “We have seen the remarks. India and the US were committed to negotiating a bilateral trade agreement as far back as February 13, 2025. Since then, the two sides have held multiple rounds of negotiations to arrive at a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement. On several occasions, we have been close to a deal. The characterisation of these discussions in the reported remarks is not accurate.”
He added that the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has spoken to the United States’ President, Donald Trump, 8 times in the year 2025, and the two leaders talked about various aspects of the partnership. According to the MEA spokesperson Jaiswal, the leaders from both nations share a ‘friendly relationship’.
(This is a developing story. Further details are awaited.)
