New Delhi: In the wake of US President Donald Trump’s repeated offers to mediate between India and Pakistan on Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the US President on Tuesday that India is “not shying away from talks with Pakistan,” but expects certain steps to be taken against terrorism first.
During their bilateral meeting in New York on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that lasted for about 40 minutes, Mr Modi told President Trump that India had “expected certain steps to be taken” against terrorism by Pakistan that it had not taken, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters, adding that President Trump accepted that terrorism was a challenge that both US and India faced.
India has consistently maintained that its recent announcement of bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter that any talks on the Kashmir issue have to be bilateral with Pakistan, without any third-party mediation.
Trade issues also figured prominently during the meeting with both countries saying they were confident of singing a trade deal soon. The US President declared before the meeting that the two countries would “have a trade deal very soon”, adding that a “larger deal” would be reached “down the road in a little bit”.
Ahead of his meeting with Mr Modi, Mr Trump said that he hoped India and Pakistan’s Prime Ministers would “get together” and “work out something on Kashmir”, adding that “we all want to see that”.
He also said that he expected Mr Modi to “take care” of the terrorism problem in the region and the Kashmir issue. “I know that your Prime Minister will take care of it... you have a great Prime Minister and he will solve the problem, I have no doubt about it,” Mr Trump said. Though the US President has repeatedly offered to mediate between India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue, including on Monday and Tuesday, these remarks indicate that in the absence of India agreeing to any third-party mediation on the Kashmir issue, the US is keen that India and Pakistan begin talks.
In his remarks before the meeting, President Trump described PM Modi as a “father” figure for India and expressed confidence that he would solve the Kashmir issue and handle the menace of terrorism facing India. He even compared Mr Modi to legendary singer Elvis Presley for the rockstar-like reception he received in Houston.
Mr Modi hailed President Trump as not just his friend but also a “friend of India”, and thanked him profusely for attending the Houston event.
Speaking on the issue of Pakistan-sponsored terror, Mr Trump said PM Modi had “given the message loud and clear” to Pakistan, a reference to Mr Modi’s remarks at the Houston event on Sunday.
But in what points to some degree of divergence in the Indian and US viewpoints on the issue of the biggest source of terrorism, President Trump preferred to single out Iran, accusing it of being the “number one terrorist state”.
Briefing the media after the bilateral talks, India’s foreign secretary said that trade issues and terrorism were discussed in equal measure at the meeting and that India was satisfied with the outcome of the meeting.
Mr Gokhale said that New Delhi was able to give a “good understanding” to the US on the challenges India faced due to terrorism, including in J&K. He also said that he was optimistic about the two countries concluding an agreement on trade.
Though the trade deal entails “complex issues” involving jobs on both sides, and that “give and take” is required, Mr Gokhale said that India expects the trade deal to be a “fair and reasonable” on access to the US market.
On trade ties, a matter close to President Trump’s heart, PM Modi pointed to the agreement signed by the Indian company Petronet with an American firm for $2.5 billion, adding that “this will mean that in the years to come, this will result in trade of $60 billion and create 50,000 jobs which I think is a very big initiative taken by India”.
In remarks made before the meeting, President Trump, when asked about the issue of terrorism, said, “We had a very good meeting with PM Khan. We discussed a lot and I think he’d like to see something happen that will be very fruitful, very peaceful. And I think that will happen ultimately. I really believe that that these two great gentlemen (PM Modi and Pakistan PM Imran Khan) will get together and work out something... It would be great if they could work out something on Kashmir. We all want to see that, I’m sure. You have a great PM. I’m sure he will solve the problem.”
“I really believe that PM Modi and PM Khan… will get along when they get to know each other and I think a lot of good things will come from that meeting. I think PM Modi gave it (the message to Pakistan) and I think he gave it loud and clear... I’m sure he will be able to handle that situation,” the US President added
Mr Trump further said, “You mentioned Pakistan but Iran would have to be on top of the list because if you look at terrorist states, that’s been the number one for a long time.”
“My personal chemistry (with PM Modi) is as good as it can get. I have great respect, have great admiration and I really like him. He is a great gentleman and a great leader. And I remember India before. Not intimately but I remember India before. It was very torn. There was a lot of dissension and a lot of fighting and he brought it all together. Like a father would bring it together. Maybe he’s the father of India. We’ll call him the father of India... but he brought things together,” the US President said.
Hailing PM Modi, the US President asserted, “He’s done a fantastic job. What the event showed is how much I like India and how much I like your PM. There was tremendous spirit in that room too. They love this gentleman to the right (PM Modi). They really do. That was like Elvis. He was like an American version of Elvis.”
On Monday, in the presence of Pakistan PM Imran Khan, Mr Trump had once again offered to mediate between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue and termed himself an “extremely good arbitrator”. The US President’s repeated offers of mediation are being seen by observers as a sign of increasing American pressure on India to talk to Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.
