Indian perspective on Trump-Modi meeting
Mir Ahmad Reza Musharraf – Expert on Indian Subcontinent Issues:
Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Washington and its aftermath and results have been widely covered and considered by the Indian media in recent days. What can be said in general is that the Indian media’s view on this matter has focused on two areas; first, issues related to the bilateral relations between New Delhi and Washington and its developments, and second, the reflections and consequences of this visit on India’s position and relations with the international community.
A) Bilateral issues: Several issues have been considered in this area. The new tariff war that Trump has launched against the world and which has also affected India, economic cooperation and long-term plans to significantly increase it to $500 billion by 2030, the issue of military-defense cooperation between New Delhi and Washington, in areas such as arms sales and especially cooperation in the aerospace sector, increasing cooperation in the energy sector, the issue of deportation of Indian immigrants in the US, cooperation in the social and educational sectors, and several other issues in the process of bilateral cooperation.
Most Indian circles have expressed satisfaction with the course of Modi’s actions and performance in Washington and in the field of bilateral issues. NDTV has conducted an interview with “Shashi Tharoor”, a prominent member of the government’s opposition party (Congress), in which he emphasizes that in his opinion, almost what was expected has been achieved. He also describes the press statements of both sides as encouraging. But in his opinion, the most important flaw in Modi’s work has been in the area of immigration, where Modi has remained silent and unresponsive to the US government’s abusive treatment of illegal immigrants from India. He hopes that Modi has at least privately raised this issue with President Trump.
C. Raja Mohan, a prominent Indian analyst, also praised Modi’s speed in considering the dangers of the new Trump administration for India in the Indian Express newspaper, although he went on to express doubts that the country’s slow bureaucracy could adapt to this speed of action.
In addition to these issues, the pro-government media launched an extensive maneuver on the issue of Trump’s agreement to extradite “Tahur Hussain Rana”, a Pakistani accused of the September 26 Mumbai terrorist attacks, praising both Modi and Trump. This is while the process of this extradition is still unclear and fraught with many complications.
B) The consequences of this visit on India’s international position: But some Indian media outlets have also paid attention to the international consequences of this visit for India. In this regard, THE HINDO has addressed the issue of China’s reaction to this visit and reflected the statement of the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman that bilateral cooperation between countries should not harm third parties. At the same time, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson emphasizes the essential role of close partnership between the United States and India in enjoying a free, peaceful and prosperous region in the subcontinent and the Pacific.
In the field of relations with Russia, Modi’s positions on Ukraine have been approved by most of the media outlets, and “C. Raja Mohan” adds that Trump’s efforts for peace between Ukraine and Russia will ultimately benefit India. Along with all this, Modi’s use of personal connections and his ideal use of Trump’s personal qualities have also been positively reflected in the Indian media, such that the use of the term (MIGA) (Make India Great Again) as an imitation of the term MAGA (Make America Great Again) was considered a very clever move.
Media source: Quds Online – News code: 1049640