MODI IN US

Trump-Modi meet: Anxious Indian officials keep fingers crossed

modi-trump-meet Modi will try to strengthen ties that have appeared to loosen | File

Today's White House session promises less pomp than Modi's previous visits to Washington

US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold their first face-to-face meeting in Washington on Monday, seeking to boost US-Indian relations despite differences over trade, the Paris climate accord and immigration.

Modi will try to strengthen ties that have appeared to loosen. Indian officials, noting both men's tendency to speak their mind, are anxious to see how they get along.

"If the chemistry is good, everything else gets sorted," said an Indian official. "The only way is up. How much up we go depends on the leaders. If they click, we go up higher."

Their White House session promises less pomp than Modi's previous visits to Washington, which included former President Barack Obama taking him to the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in 2014.

But Trump administration officials have pointed to both leaders' impact on social media—each has more than 30 million Twitter followers—as proof that they are cut from the same cloth, and predicted the two would get along well.

Trump built a Trump Tower property in Mumbai and spoke warmly of India during his presidential campaign last year.

"The White House is very interested in making this a special visit," said one senior official. "We’re really seeking to roll out the red carpet."

They will have one-on-one talks followed by statements to the news media without taking questions. They will then have a working dinner, the first time Trump has played host to a foreign dignitary at a White House dinner.

While progress is expected in defense trade and cooperation, there are frictions elsewhere.

Trump, who campaigned on an "America First" platform, has been troubled by the growing US trade deficit with India. He has called for reform of the H-1B visa system that has benefited Indian tech firms.

He set the United States on a path to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and accused India of negotiating unscrupulously for the accord in order to walk away with billions of dollars in aid.

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