Trump, Modi May Meet On The Sidelines Of ASEAN Summit - Report

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 (Bernama) -- United States (US) President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi may meet on the sidelines of the upcoming 47th ASEAN Summit and related summits in Kuala Lumpur later this month. Both have been invited to the summit.

According to the CNN-News18 channel, the possible attendance of the two leaders has sparked speculation of a bilateral meeting between the two countries on the sidelines of the Oct 26 to 27 summit.

India has not confirmed Modi’s official travel plans. There has been no official announcement from the US side on Trump’s plan as well.

“But given that this invite has been extended to both the nations, a lot of buzz essentially over the likelihood of the two leaders meeting one-on-one. The chatter is that this meeting could take place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia.

“So this would be an opportunity, this would also be the last window where both leaders can meet this year because after this summit there is no other multilateral summit taking place this year where both leaders will attend,” said the news report. 

The report further suggested the possible meeting between Trump and Modi could provide a clue to the future of the relationship between the two nations.

“As far as a trade talk is concerned, perhaps both nations are not on the same page but both nations are indeed trying to navigate and find a solution.

“Definitely the relationship is going through a very rough patch but despite that, there is this great equation between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump,” it said.

Recently, the Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of United Nation General Assembly (UNGA), with the trade talks between both countries having resumed after the imposition of a 50 per cent tariff by the US.

-- BERNAMA