India-West News Desk

NEW DELHI =- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States on February 12-13 for a bilateral meeting with President Donald Trump, marking his first visit since Trump’s second-term inauguration.

 “Both energy and defense will be central topics during their talks. Tariff-related issues will also be part of the ongoing dialogue with the US,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at a media briefing.

The US remains India’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade exceeding $118 billion in 2023-24 and India recording a trade surplus of $32 billion. A number Trump is not likely to take well. With the Indian rupee performing poorly and tagged as the “worst performing Asian currency of 2025”, Modi will be anxious to see that trade relations remain on an even keel. The Indian government has shown its willingness to accommodate the US administration in its new budget.

The visit also comes at a time when the Modi government is facing criticism over the deportation of 104 Indian illegal immigrants by US authorities this week as part of Trump’s immigration policy. Trump, who has made mass deportations a priority, recently told Modi in a call that he expects India to “do the right thing” on illegal immigration. 18,000 undocumented Indian migrants have been identified in the US, though the actual figure may be higher, Bloomberg has reported.

Modi’s itinerary includes high-level meetings in both restricted and delegation-level formats. Senior US administration officials are expected to engage with him, and he will also meet business leaders and members of the Indian diaspora. (with ANI inputs)