Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to the United States next month for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), with plans underway for a possible meeting with US President Donald Trump to address strained trade relations.
Sources said Modi is also likely to hold talks with other world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The UNGA session will take place in New York in September, with global leaders arriving from the week beginning September 23.
If confirmed, this will be the second Modi–Trump meeting in seven months, following the Prime Minister’s visit to the White House in February. Trump, according to sources, is eager to meet Modi, having invited him to Washington in June during the Prime Minister’s visit to Canada for the G7 Summit. Modi declined at the time, wary that Trump might arrange a parallel meeting with Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir, who was also in the US.
Should next month’s talks go well, Modi is expected to personally invite Trump to India for the QUAD summit in October, where Australia and Japan will also participate. While Modi and Trump developed a personal rapport during Trump’s first term, ties have been tested in his second term amid disputes over tariffs and trade policies.
A breakthrough on a long-pending India–US trade deal remains uncertain, with New Delhi reluctant to open its agriculture and dairy markets to American products. The impasse deepened after Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Indian goods and added another 25% levy over India’s continued purchase of Russian oil—bringing the total duty to 50%.
Half of these tariffs took effect on August 7, with the remainder set for August 27. Negotiators from both countries are racing to strike a deal before the full duties come into force.
Russian oil imports remain another flashpoint, with Trump accusing India of financing Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Washington has pressed New Delhi to scale back purchases, but India has pushed back, citing US imports of uranium, chemicals, and fertilisers from Russia as evidence of double standards.
India will be closely watching Trump’s scheduled August 15 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which is expected to focus on ending the war that has dragged on for over three years.