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PM Modi, Trump discuss regional security, partnership in 2020
A statement issued by the external affairs ministry made no mention of security issues, and said Modi expressed his desire to continue working with Trump to enhance cooperation in all areas of mutual interest.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on Tuesday discussed the regional security situation against the backdrop of an escalation in tensions in West Asia following the killing of a top Iranian general in an American air strike last week.
The phone conversation between the two leaders came three days after Qassem Soleimani, head of al-Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed while leaving the Baghdad airport on Friday.
“Today, President Donald J Trump spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India to exchange New Year’s greetings. The leaders discussed ways to further strengthen the US-India strategic partnership in 2020, and they also reviewed the regional security matters,” a White House readout said.
A statement issued by the external affairs ministry made no mention of security issues, and said Modi expressed his desire to continue working with Trump to enhance cooperation in all areas of mutual interest.
As tensions have escalated following Soleimani’s death, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has threatened “severe revenge” and Trump has warned the US will strike 52 specific targets if Iran retaliates.
On Sunday, external affairs minister S Jaishankar spoke to US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif and expressed concern at developments taking a “very serious turn”. The Indian side had reached out to key players in West Asia, including the UAE, Oman and Qatar, to discuss ways to reduce tensions.
India has been put in a difficult position because on the one hand, it has a growing strategic partnership with the US and, on the other, Iran is crucial to its plans to access landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asian states. It has been watching the escalation with growing concern as any flare up could hit crude oil prices and supplies and also affect nearly 8 million Indian expatriates in West Asia.
According to the external affairs ministry’s statement, Modi conveyed New Year’s greetings to Trump and said the India-US relations, “which are built on trust, mutual respect and understanding, have grown from strength to strength”.
Modi highlighted “significant progress made in deepening the strategic partnership between the two countries in the previous year and expressed his desire to continue to work with President Trump for enhancing cooperation in all areas of mutual interest”.
Trump wished the people of India prosperity and progress and expressed satisfaction at “achievements in the relationship in last few years and reiterated his readiness for further deepening bilateral cooperation”, the statement said.
