'Doing a Tremendous Job': Trump's Birthday Wish for PM Modi Amid India-US Trade Tensions

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump during their meeting in Washington.

At a time when India and US are engaged in a tariff war, trade tensions took a backseat as US President Donald Trump, while wishing Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday during a call, said that the Indian PM was “doing a tremendous job”.

PM Modi, after the call, thanked the US President for the greetings. Taking to X, PM Modi wrote: “Thank you, my friend, President Trump, for your phone call and warm greetings on my 75th birthday. Like you, I am also fully committed to taking the India-US Comprehensive and Global Partnership to new heights. We support your initiatives towards a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.”

In a reply to the post, Trump said on social media platform Truth Social: “Just had a wonderful phone call with my friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I wished him a very Happy Birthday! He is doing a tremendous job. Narendra: Thank you for your support on ending the War between Russia and Ukraine!”

Trade tensions have remained high between the two countries since US imposed 50 per cent tariffs, which include a 25 per cent penalty for buying Russian oil, on India.

However, for the first time since the imposition of the steep tariffs, the two sides on Tuesday discussed the next steps in trade negotiations, which were described by Washington as “positive”. The resumption of talks for the trade deal has been seen as an intent by the two sides to find common ground.

In the past few weeks, Trump has tried to diffuse the tensions, mentioning his good relationship with PM Modi whenever he spoke about tariffs.

In one of his remarks, Donald Trump recently said that PM Modi will always remain his friend. On September 6, at the White House, Trump had said, “I will always be friends with Modi, he is a great Prime Minister. India and the United States have a special relationship. There is nothing to worry about.”

“I get along very well with (Indian PM) Modi as you know, he was here a couple of months ago, we went to the Rose Garden,” Donald Trump had added.