G7 Summit 2026: Modi, Trump share a warm exchange ahead of meeting

The two leaders were seated next to each other for an outreach session of the G7 Summit being held at the resort of Evian-les-Bain

Published on: Jun 17, 2026, 06:57:13 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump exchanged pleasantries and spoke briefly at the G7 Summit in France on Tuesday, marking the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders in 16 months.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with US President Donald Trump at the G7 Summit, in Evian (@narendramodi X)

The two leaders were seated next to each other for an outreach session of the G7 Summit being held at the resort of Evian-les-Bains. Footage beamed from the venue showed Modi walking over to Trump, who was seated. They shook hands, and Trump rose from his chair to talk to Modi for a short while. Modi smiled as Trump patted him on the arm. The two leaders last met in Washington in February last year, though they have spoken on the phone several times since then.

There was no immediate official word from the Indian or American side on the conversation. Modi and Trump are expected to hold a bilateral meeting on the margins of the summit on Wednesday.

Also Read | Seated next to Trump, PM Modi raises ship attacks, says must protect seafarers

Before the outreach session, Modi joined the leaders of G7 states and partner countries invited for the summit – Brazil, Egypt, Kenya and South Korea – for a “family photo”. Footage showed Modi exchanging pleasantries with European Council President Antonio Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Modi was received on his arrival at Evian by French President Emmanuel Macron, with whom he held bilateral talks over the weekend on his first leg of his tour of Europe. Modi had then travelled to Slovakia for the second leg of his visit.

India and the US are currently working to reset their ties after a year of strains not witnessed in the past two decades, triggered by the US President’s trade and tariff policies, and the Modi-Trump meeting on Wednesday will be closely watched for signs of a breakthrough. Trump hit Indian exports with 50% tariffs, including a punitive levy on Russian oil purchases. The US leader’s frequent claims about ending a four-day conflict between India and Pakistan in May 2025 and his growing proximity to Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir added to the strains.

Modi and Trump unveiled an understanding on a framework for a trade deal, including the slashing of US tariffs, in February and the US Trade Representative is set to visit New Delhi next week to take forward talks on the agreement.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio visited India last month for talks with external affairs minister S Jaishankar and to attend in a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting. However, bilateral ties came under a cloud again when the US Navy struck three merchant vessels with Indian crew members in waters off Oman, killing three Indian seafarers last week.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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