As India’s prime minister prepares for his first meeting with America’s president, this much is clear. Narendra Modi will not address him as Donald and Donald Trump will not address him as Narendra. In a somewhat dubious claim Prime Minister Modi had said he was on first name basis with former President Barack Obama and did in fact use his first name in the former’s presence rather unconvincingly. I do not recall Obama having reciprocated. But why quibble over such detail in the so-called post-truth era?
On balance though, there is a greater prospect of Trump eventually calling Modi by his first name. “Narrendraa, right, great name, right?” he might say. Levity aside, I am curious to know about the focus of the maiden meeting between the two. There are obvious issues, the least of which is how they address each other. Before I write about some of them, I am equally curious to see their handshake. Both are known for their peculiar handshakes, Modi for his bone-crunching one and Trump for his muscle-pulling one. Whether Modi crunches first or Trump pulls first will decide who might win. Enough levity for now.
There was considerable effusiveness among the lunatic cultural-political fringe of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party when President Trump won and assumed office. Their main source of exultation was his anti-Muslim tirade that these groups also thrive on. The profoundly embarrassing photos of some ridiculous men feeding a Trump poster a piece of cake in Delhi were widely published in newspapers. That excitement appears to have died down as realpolitik has taken over with Trump being critical of New Delhi’s approach toward the Paris Agreement over global climate. He explicitly suggested that India made its participation contingent on extracting billions of dollars in reward, an assertion New Delhi was rather upset about.
There was general expectation that given his somewhat unhinged rhetoric against China during his presidential campaign, his presidency might pivot around India in Asia and beyond. That does not seem to have happened at all. In fact, he has repeatedly expressed rather sanguine view of China and its President Xi Jinping, with whom he has spoken of having “great chemistry” and “great relationship.” The two men met in April, early in the Trump presidency and notwithstanding the Trumpian hype about such things they appeared to have got along reasonably well. That relationship is considerably defined by the wayward North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-Un.
It is not a zero sum game when it comes to Washington’s relationship with Beijing and New Delhi but the Modi government ought to have taken note of the confected bonhomie between Trump and Xi, perhaps more in the former’s mind than the latter’s. It is possible that the Indian prime minister would try to position India in the larger Asian context even while reminding the president of the strategic partnership between the two countries. Given Trump’s temperament defense-related cooperation might find some primacy in their talks.
Friend and fellow journalist Lalit K Jha of the Press Trust of India (PTI), who is a credentialed White House correspondent, reports that “the US State Department has approved the sale of 22 predator Guardian drones to India.” “The deal, which is estimated to be worth around $3 bn is being termed as a “game changer” by governmental sources,” Lalit reported today. That decision is in keeping with the defense focus of the Trump administration.
Pakistan and Afghanistan too are expected to figure, the former more so than the latter, although so much of the oxygen in Washington has been consumed by the Trump-Russia debate. Washington’s approach to Pakistan is still a matter of conjecture.
Of course, there is the relatively minor issue of Trump’s severe criticism of the H1B professional visas on which Indian technology professionals depend in an inordinately large manner. These visas attract more than fair share of attraction because they concern a traditional darling of the media—the information technology industry. I am certain it will find a mention during their talks but I will be surprised if will rise to a very high level.
There could have been some reference to cooperation in clean energy but it is not a subject a coal-obsessed Trump appears to relish much.
By and large, the meeting is expected to be exploratory because the two have not met before in their official capacity. I am not sure if they have ever met at all. Their meeting on June 26 is expected to establish a personal connection.