Donald Trump holds telephone discussion with PM Modi as Jaishankar reaches U.S.

Against the backdrop of a strain successful India-U.S. ties implicit aggregate issues, including tariffs, U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi connected Monday (February 2, 2026), U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor announced connected the day. Shortly earlier the announcement by Mr. Gor, Mr. Trump had shared an representation of India Gate successful New Delhi calling it “India’s beauteous Triumphal Arch”. The telephone speech took spot arsenic External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar started a sojourn to the United States from February 2 to 4 erstwhile helium volition enactment successful the Critical Minerals Ministerial conscionable convened by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The speech betwixt the President and the Prime Minister is the archetypal since the U.S. person convened a ‘Board of Peace’ consisting of aggregate planetary leaders aimed astatine ending the situation successful Gaza Strip. India has maintained a studied soundlessness connected participating successful the Board of Peace adjacent though Mr. Trump had invited Mr. Modi to enactment successful the acme that took spot connected the sidelines of the World Economic Forum successful Davos connected January 22. Mr. Jaishankar had, successful the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers gathering connected January 31, said that ending the struggle successful Gaza Strip is simply a “widely shared priority” successful the world.

“The Ministerial volition absorption connected proviso concatenation resilience, cleanable vigor transitions, and strategical practice successful captious minerals,” said the MEA announcing that Mr. Jaishankar, during the ongoing tour, “will besides clasp meetings with elder members of the US administration.” Apart from India, dozens of different countries specified arsenic Kenya, South Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo that person important nationalist minerals accumulation volition beryllium portion of the meeting. The ministerial is aimed astatine reducing dependence connected China for captious minerals and make a proviso concatenation that volition screen the full proviso concatenation from mining, processing, and recycling to pricing mechanism. The participating countries are besides expected to motion a non-binding document.

The treatment betwixt the 2 sides is being watched arsenic India and the U.S. person been successful a dialog implicit a bilateral commercialized agreement, which is yet to steadfast up and particularly arsenic it comes conscionable days aft India announced the conclusion of negotiations of a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union. The announcement of the India-EU commercialized agreement had drawn appreciation from U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who said that India had travel connected “top” successful the woody with the EU. “They get much marketplace entree into Europe,” said Mr. Greer successful an interrogation with Fox Business connected January 27.