Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France on Wednesday, their first face-to-face meeting since Modi visited Washington in February 2025.
'New speed, new energy'
Opening the talks, Modi said it was a pleasure to meet Trump at the summit. "We had an extremely productive meeting in Washington last year, and since then we have given new speed and new energy to our relations, and we are working together on a number of areas," he said.
Trump, in his characteristic style, praised Modi effusively. "He's one of the toughest, actually. You look at this man — he looks so nice, he's like an angel, but actually he's as tough as he's a killer," Trump said.
'If India is attacked, US will be there'
On defence ties, Trump made a pointed commitment to Modi. "If anybody attacks that man, we're going to be there now. If they were attacked, we would be there," he said. "We've always had tremendous relationships in terms of employment with India — very talented people," Trump added.
Safety of Indian seafarers
Modi raised the issue of Indian seafarers directly with Trump. "Mr President, you are aware that across the world, Indian seafarers in hundreds of thousands are working and performing their duties across global maritime trade routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, and their safety is of utmost importance to us," he said.
