PM Modi seeks 'highest priority' for seafarers in Middle East peace deal in meeting with Trump

With the US and Iran set to sign an interim peace agreement on Friday, PM Narendra Modi told President Donald Trump he was confident that the issue of seafarers will receive the “highest priority” during the implementation of this agreement, while appreciating the president’s “tremendous efforts” in reaching the deal. The leaders spoke to the media before their bilateral meeting in France – the first in 16 months – where Trump was also asked if he had a word of condolence about the deaths of 3 Indian mariners in US strikes on a tanker last week in the Gulf of Oman. The president replied in the affirmative as he said, “yeah, I do” but also seemed to downplay the incident as he said such incidents have taken place in the past too. “It's a rough profession. There's no question about it. And we work together on it. This has been happening throughout time...we love all of those people. They're great,” said Trump. While Modi didn’t explicitly refer to the US attack, he told Trump that hundreds of thousands of Indian seafarers were performing their duties across global maritime trade routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, and their safety was of utmost importance to India. Modi said in a post on X that they reviewed “sustained progress” in the bilateral cooperation in trade, energy, defence, technology and people-to-people ties. “Conveyed India’s appreciation on the progress in the efforts for restoring peace and stability in West t of Hormuz open is vital for the global economy. Reiterated the importance of ensuring the safety and security of civilians, including seafarers,” said the PM after the meeting. Asked about the deterioration in India-US ties, Trump said he wasn’t aware of any trouble in the relationship and added India had a great friend in the White House. He said India and the US were “very close” to having a trade deal while calling Modi a tough negotiator. Trump’s interaction with the media, alongside Modi, was replete with jokes and remarks that some might see as facetious. For instance, when asked about defence cooperation with India, the president said “if anybody attacks that man (pointing to Modi), we're going to be there”. “Now, if there's a new leader, I'm not sure about it. If there's a new leader, I don't know about that. But if they're attacked and he's the leader, we're going to be there to help,” said Trump. Asked about Quad, the president only recalled his visit to India in 2020, including to the Narendra Modi stadium in Gujarat, saying he had a great time in India. The meeting was preceded by the US announcement that it was restoring the name of the US Indo-Pacific Command to the original Pacific Command, reversing the president’s own decision in 2018 to rename the oldest and largest US unified command in a nod to India’s growing stature as a potential counterweight to China. In reply to another question, Trump recalled the Howdy Modi event in Houston and said he would be going to India “sometime in the future”. The president didn’t mention his invitation to Modi to travel to the US. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said during his visit to India last month that he had delivered an invitation to the PM to visit the US. Trump also reiterated his claim of ending 8 wars, as he addressed the media alongside Modi. However, the president didn’t explicitly mention the India-Pakistan military conflict last year which is included otherwise in his list of wars that he claims to have stopped. Trump made the remark while responding to a question about the Russia-Ukraine war. Despite repeated claims by Trump that he ended the India-Pakistan war, saving millions of lives, India’s position remains that the ceasefire was a bilateral understanding negotiated by the militaries. What may also be of concern to India is Trump’s mention of G2, a euphemism for an informal US-China duopoly, in the presence of Modi. Trump has been frequently using the term to bolster his outreach to China, triggering anxiety among allies and partners, but this is the first time he has used it before the Indian PM. Trump mentioned the G2 in the same breath as G20. “We have a G2 coming up, and then we have a G20 coming up. You know what the G2 is, I think, most of you do,” said Trump in his opening remarks, alluding to his recent China visit and the return visit by President Xi Jinping in September. Later, while replying to another question, he said he had a great meeting with Xi 3 weeks ago. The fact that Trump was speaking shortly after the US restored the name of US Indo-Pacific Command to Pacific Command, signalling at least on paper a shift away from India, only made it worse. The decision followed a year of discord in bilateral ties over not just trade and immigration but also several geopolitical issues. The idea of G2 compounds the challenges for India in the region, as it follows Trump’s scaling back of Quad.