India has expressed confidence in its ability to work with Donald Trump as he prepares for a second term following his recent election victory.
On Sunday, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar acknowledged that while some countries may be apprehensive about a Trump-led administration, “India is not one of them.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a positive relationship with Trump during his first term from 2017 to 2021, although India and the U.S. experienced a challenging tariff dispute that impacted businesses on both sides.
India has historically benefited from bipartisan support in the U.S., cooperating effectively with both Republican and Democrat administrations. Successive U.S. governments have seen India as a strategic counterbalance to China.
At an event on Sunday, Jaishankar added that Delhi has no concerns about the potential for strong India-U.S. relations under Trump’s leadership.
“Modi was among the first three calls, I think, that President [elect] Trump took,” the minister said.
However, trade tensions are expected to cast a shadow over the relationship.
In October, the president-elect praised Modi as a “great leader” but criticized India for imposing high tariffs.
Analysts suggest that it will be interesting to see if the rapport between the leaders can bridge the trade differences between the two nations.
Trump and Modi have often shared mutual admiration. In 2019, they exchanged warm words at the “Howdy, Modi!” event, a Texas gathering attended by nearly 50,000 people, making it one of the largest U.S. receptions for a foreign leader.
The following year, during Trump’s first official visit to India, Modi hosted a rally in his home state of Gujarat, drawing 125,000 attendees to the world’s largest cricket stadium.
Yet, despite these grand gestures, the relationship faced challenges. In his first term, Trump revoked India’s preferential trade status amid an intense tariff dispute between the two countries.
Denial rate for H-1B visas also rose from 6% in 2016 to 21% in 2019, data from the US Department of Labour showed. A majority of these visas are granted to Indian tech workers.
Meanwhile, Jaishankar also argued that the balance of power between the East and West was shifting but added that older industrialised economies like the US were still very important.
“They are big markets, strong technology centres, hubs for innovation. So let’s recognise the shift, but let’s not get carried away and kind of overstate it and distort our own understanding of the world,” he said.