United States President Donald Trump has hinted that there could be some key announcements made by him at the ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event in Houston on September 22. Trump is scheduled to join Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in addressing a 50,000-strong gathering of the Indian diaspora at the event.
“Could be. I have a very good relationship with Prime Minister Modi,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday aboard Air Force One, responding to a question on whether there would be any announcements when he goes to Houston for the rally.
The event on Sunday will be the first time that a sitting US president and an Indian Prime Minister will jointly address the Indian-American community. It will also mark the third meeting between the two leaders in three months, after the G20 summit in Japan in June and the G7 summit in France last month.
According to media reports, officials of the two countries are trying to finalise a trade deal before Modi and Trump meet in Houston.
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Trade tensions between India and the US have been rising with Trump complaining about tariffs imposed by New Delhi on American products. The US in June terminated India's designation as a beneficiary developing country under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme.
India in turn imposed retaliatory tariffs on 28 US products including almonds and apples from June 5.
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Modi will be visiting the US from September 21-27 for the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).