Malaysia has informed India that US President Donald Trump will visit Kuala Lumpur for the summits of ASEAN and East Asia leaders from October 26 to 28. This has opened a window for Delhi to look at a possible bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump on the sidelines of the East Asia summit. While there has been no official announcement about Modi’s travel to Malaysia, preparations are underway. There has been no official announcement from the US side too, either from the White House or the US State Department, on Trump’s travel plans. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is the host of the ASEAN and East Asia summits and Kuala Lumpur and Delhi have been in touch about India’s participation. Malaysia has also conveyed that Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Russian President Vladimir Putin are also expected to travel to Kuala Lumpur for the summit. A possible meeting between Modi and Trump has been in the works since Washington and Delhi have resumed work on a trade deal that was stalled over the imposition of tariffs and Indian purchase of Russian oil. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New York in September during the United Nations General Assembly session. Following the meeting, Rubio described India as “a relationship of critical importance” to the US and flagged “trade, defence, energy, pharmaceuticals and critical minerals” as key issues. A possible meeting between Modi and Trump depends on how the trade deal talks proceed. And if there is to be a meeting in Kuala Lumpur, there’s a deadline of sorts – close the deal in a month’s time, by October 26. On September 30, hours after Trump announced a 20-point peace plan for Gaza, Modi welcomed the proposal and expressed hope that “all concerned will come together” and support “this effort to end conflict and secure peace”. “We welcome President Donald J Trump’s announcement of a comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict. It provides a viable pathway to long term and sustainable peace, security and development for the Palestinian and Israeli people, as also for the larger West Asian region. We hope that all concerned will come together behind President Trump’s initiative and support this effort to end conflict and secure peace,” Modi said in a post on X. His quick post articulated “support” for the US President’s “initiative” and “effort”. Also, his call for “all concerned” to rally behind the initiative is seen as a signal to Iran, which is India’s partner in the region. Earlier, on September 16, Trump called up Modi to wish him on the eve of his 75th birthday. Earlier that day, India and the visiting US team held day-long trade talks - later described by both sides as “positive”. This was the first conversation between Modi and Trump since the bilateral chill set in after Trump doubled tariffs on India to 50 per cent. Significantly, both Modi and Trump talked of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in their posts on social media after the phone call. Modi also said he was “fully committed” to taking the India-US partnership to “new heights”.
