Modi, Trump meeting offers chance to reset ties after rocky year

A possible meeting next week between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump offers a chance to reset ties following a year of strained relations over tariffs, Pakistan, and now, the Iran war.

US forces this week attacked three Indian-crewed vessels in the Gulf of Oman region, killing at least three sailors and prompting protests from New Delhi.

Modi and Trump would likely want to contain the latest tensions and avoid derailing efforts to get relations back on track after a rocky year, analysts said.

The expected meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders’ summit in France next week would be their first face-to-face since a falling-out last year following India’s military clash with Pakistan and Trump’s tariffs.

While it was important to Delhi that the US understood the damage that the latest strikes caused, “I don’t think this will spiral out to something bigger,” said Harsh Pant, vice-president at the Observer Research Foundation think tank.

“There are bigger issues on the table which both India and US need to handle. In the larger scheme of things, there is an understanding that this is a war zone and both sides are likely to discount it.”