India’s Modi to visit US for meeting with Trump » Capital News

Feb 11 – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the US this week and meet President Donald Trump, the White House says.

Other reports say Modi will attend a dinner hosted by the US president on the two-day trip.

Modi will be among the first foreign leaders to meet Trump at the White House during his second term. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently in Washington and Japan’s PM Shigeru Ishiba is due this week.

Modi and Trump shared warm relations during the US president’s first term. Last week they held a “productive” phone call and discussed illegal immigration, security and trade ties, the White House said. Analysts say it will be interesting to see if the bonhomie between the two men will help overcome concerns about trade and immigration.

Trump called Modi a “great leader” last year but also accused India of charging excessive tariffs.

Confirmation of the Indian leader’s visit to Washington came shortly after a US military flight deporting about 100 Indian nationals landed in the state of Punjab.

All those on board are said to have either entered the US illegally, or overstayed their visas.

During last week’s call, Trump said he was sure India “will do the right thing” when it comes to illegal immigration.

He has made the mass deportation of undocumented foreign nationals a key policy. Earlier, Bloomberg reported that 18,000 undocumented Indian migrants living illegally in the US had so far been identified, but the real number is likely to be higher.