From F-35 Fighter Jets to 26/11 Attack: Here are the 10 Key Takeaways From the Modi-Trump Meeting

On February 14, 2025, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an exclusive meeting with the second President-elect Donald Trump. Modi also met with Tesla’s co-founder and CEO Elon Musk and U.S. Intel Chief Tulsi Gabbard.

At 2:30 a.m. IST, Prime Minister Modi and President Trump held a bilateral meeting at the White House. Discussions between the two leaders focused on key issues, including trade, security and international relations.

Prime Minister Modi announced at a joint press conference that India and the United States are targeting bilateral trade of $500 billion by 2030.

To reduce the trade deficit, India plans to increase imports of U.S. oil and gas. Meanwhile, former President Trump welcomes India’s recent steps to tariffs on U.S. goods, including motorcycles, metals and technology products.

From fighter jets to 26/11 attacks, this is a key point in the Modi-Trump meeting.

Modi-Trump Conference: Maga + Miga = Mega

At a joint meeting, U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced their intention to deepen their intentions by setting goals to increase bilateral trade to 2030 by setting goals to increase bilateral trade to 2030 Relations between the two countries. and technical departments.

During the meeting, Modi introduced the concept of “Make India Great Again” (Miga), drawing inspiration from Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” (Maga), and described the synergy between the two as “A giant partnership for prosperity.”

Both leaders agreed to focus on joint development, production and technology transfer within the energy and defense sectors.

Modi also highlighted initiatives such as the I-Mech Economic Corridor, through ISRO and NASA’s cooperation in space and strengthening supply chains for key minerals.

In addition, he announced plans to establish an autonomous system industry alliance that will provide a framework for defense cooperation. Trump acknowledges India’s efforts to reform nuclear energy and joint ventures in AI, semiconductors and biotech.

Modi-Trump Conference: India increases U.S. oil and gas to reduce trade deficit

India is expected to increase its crude oil and gas imports from the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trump encouraged India to buy more U.S. oil and gas to help reduce the trade deficit between the two countries.

Key Highlights:

  • LNG imports increase: Indian oil and gas companies are discussing to increase liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from the United States.
  • Growing energy relations: The agreement aims to make the United States a major supplier of Indian oil and gas.
  • Potential increase in purchases: Indian oil and gas purchases from the United States may grow from about $15 billion to $25 billion a year.
  • Diversified crude oil procurement: India is diversifying its crude oil procurement from countries including the United States to address sanctions and other factors affecting Russian supply.

Trade News:

  • Reduced trade surplus: Higher energy imports from the U.S. may indicate a decrease in trade surplus between New Delhi and Washington.
  • India’s position: India is the world’s third largest crude oil consumer, importing more than 85% of its demand.
  • The United States as a supplier: The United States is currently the fifth largest crude oil supplier in India and the top supplier of LNG. However, its share of India’s oil crude imports has dropped from 4.5% in 2019 to 3.4% in 2024.

Trump’s administration hopes to promote U.S. energy production and exports. He announced his intention to reduce energy costs and increase domestic oil and gas production.

Modi-Trump Conference: Extradition of Tahawwur Rana

The key topic discussed with U.S. President Donald Trump during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the White House was Tahawwur Rana’s Extradition.

Pakistani Canadian Rana was sentenced to 14 years in prison by the US Federal Court in 2013 for his involvement in a terrorist plot against the Danish news media and supporting the 2008 Mumbai attack, resulting in 175 Death.

Modi thanked Lana, who ensured that President Trump had described him as a criminal for “genocide” to India.

Modi promised to take “appropriate action” in Indian courts. Trump’s recognition of the extradition suggests that this is coming, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block the process last month.

Strengthen defense bonds: Provide fifth-generation F-35 stealth jets

Trump announced a significant increase in U.S.-India military cooperation, highlighting plans to sell the F-35 stealth fighter to India.

“From this year, we will significantly increase military sales to India by billions of dollars. In addition, we are providing the basis for the F-35 stealth fighter to ultimately provide India with the foundation for the F-35 stealth fighter,” he said.

The Lockheed Martin F-35 is a premium fifth-generation fighter that was recently exhibited at the Aero India exhibition in Bangalore, showing its cutting-edge stealth and combat capabilities.

Modi-Trump Conference: India’s Position on Ilegal Immigration

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

He stressed that many of them came from humble backgrounds and were often deceived by false promises before being trafficked into the United States.

Modi expressed support for President Donald Trump, highlighting the need to dismantle the entire network responsible for human trafficking.

“Our greater struggle is a battle with the entire ecosystem and we are confident that President Trump will fully support India to eliminate it,” he said.

His remarks are the latest acceptance of 104 immigrants repatriated on U.S. military aircraft in India, the first example since Trump returned to the presidency.

Modi-Trump Conference: The 21st Century American-Indian Contract

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump launched an initiative, “The US-India Compact for Military Partnership in the 21st Century (Catalization of Military Partnerships Opportunities, Accelerating Business and Technology) is an initiative.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the compact model is designed to accelerate cooperation in military partnerships, business and technology

Modi-Trump Conference: Trade and Tarrifs

During a visit to the U.S. in February 2025, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had high trade and tariff rates during a discussion with U.S. President Donald Trump. This is Modi’s fourth visit with Trump as president and his tenth visit as U.S. Prime Minister.

  • Trump’s reciprocal tariff push: Just before Modi’s visit, Trump announced new reciprocal tariffs in all countries. He said taxes and tariffs between countries are only fair. He also asked his advisers to review trade policy and hinted that new tariffs could be filed as early as April 11.
  • Reduce the U.S.-India trade deficit: The Trump administration hopes to reduce the U.S.-India trade deficit and establish a fair trade agreement in 2025.
  • Trump calls India the “tariff king”: Trump often criticizes India’s high tariffs. He believes tariffs can help boost the U.S. economy and manufacturing, thereby creating more jobs. The White House noted that India’s average tariff on imported goods is 39%, while the United States imposes only 5% on agricultural products in MFN (the most popular country).
  • High tariffs on American motorcycles: A key issue is India’s 100% tariff on American motorcycles. By comparison, the U.S. charges only 2.4% tariffs on motorcycles imported from India.
  • Modi’s strategy: Avoid punitive tariffs: India hopes to avoid US Modi’s tough trade actions aimed at reducing tensions by providing trade concessions. He is expected to reduce tariffs on U.S. goods and increase imports of U.S. energy and defense equipment.
  • Trump calls Modi a tough negotiator: When asked who is the better negotiator, Trump acknowledged that Modi is “harder and better” than him.
  • Concerns about higher consumer prices: Economists warn that Trump’s tariff policies could raise consumer prices. However, Trump insists that costs will eventually drop.

Modi-Trump Conference: Focus on Trade and IMEC Corridor

At a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two leaders discussed trade, defense, energy and global strategies.

One focus is the Central India-European Economic Corridor (IMEC), which Trump calls “one of the greatest trade routes in history.”

Trump and Modi reiterated their commitment to IMEC, which is seen as a belt and road initiative against China. The trade route will be from India to Israel to Italy, to the United States, and connect partners through ports, rail and submarine cables.

Modi-Trump Conference: Trust

The Modi-Trump conference in Washington, D.C. on February 13, 2025 led to the launch of the Trust of India (“Relations that Utilize Strategic Technologies”).

The initiative aims to promote cooperation between the two governments, academia and the private sector.

The focus is to promote the application of key and emerging technologies in various fields, including defense, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum technology, biotechnology, energy and space.

The program also encourages the use of proven technology suppliers and ensures protection of sensitive technologies. A core component of the Trust Program is the commitment to creating a U.S.-India roadmap for accelerating AI infrastructure by the end of this year.

The roadmap will identify obstacles related to financing, building, power and connecting India’s massive U.S.-original AI infrastructure and milestones and future actions.

The United States and India plan to collaborate to enable industry partnerships and investments in next-generation data centers, as well as collaborations on the development and access of AI’s computing and processors.

This collaboration aims to promote innovation in AI models and build AI applications to address social challenges, while also implementing the necessary protection and controls and reducing regulatory barriers.