Modi meets Trump at G7 summit in Evian, France

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian‑les‑Bains, France, the first face‑to‑face encounter between the two leaders in roughly 16 months. The talks covered a range of issues including a pending India‑U.S. trade agreement, which Trump described as “very close,” as well as defence cooperation, energy security, technology partnerships and regional stability in West Asia.

Modi raised the recent deaths of Indian seafarers in the Strait of Hormuz, urging greater safety for merchant vessels. Trump praised Modi as a “hard‑negotiating, very tough” leader and affirmed that the United States would stand with India if it were attacked, even without a written pact. Both leaders exchanged compliments, shaking hands but not embracing, and the meeting was noted by other G7 participants as a positive signal for the strategic partnership between the two democracies.