1. This will be the first bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Trump after the latter assumed presidency for the second time last month.
2. PM Modi will be staying at the Blair House, the US presidential guest house at the heart of the American capital city Washington DC.
3. At the Blair House, the President’s Guest House, he was accorded a rousing welcome by members of the Indian-American community. Braving freezing temperatures and rain, the community members gathered at Blair House and welcomed him with slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Modi Modi’ as they waved the Indian and American flags.
4. PM Modi’s key priority is likely to be to pre-empt any punitive trade action by Washington against India, with the aim to avoid high tariffs and expand the trade basket. PM Modi’s visit to the US comes shortly after Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on global steel and aluminium imports into the US, a move expected to hit Indian firms.
5. Likely on the agenda are also matters concerning investment, energy, defence, technology and immigration.
6. The two leaders are also likely to touch upon overall situation in the Indo-Pacific, Ukraine and developments in West Asia.
7. PM Modi is the fourth foreign leader hosted by Trump over the weeks since his inauguration, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
8. PM Modi held a meeting with US Director Of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard in Washington and discussed various aspects of India-US friendship.
9. PM Modi is scheduled to meet billionaire Elon Musk, during his visit to the White House on Thursday. He is also expected to meet other business leaders.
10. This is PM Modi’s 10th visit to the United States as prime minister and fourth with Trump as President. Biden hosted him at a ceremonial state visit in 2024. PM Modi’s first visit to the US as prime minister was in 2014 when Barack Obama was the President.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Tulsi Gabbard, US Director of National Intelligence, and discussed various aspects of ties between the two countries with focus on enhancing intelligence cooperation in counter-terrorism and emerging threats.

PM Modi also congratulated Hindu-American Gabbard on her confirmation as the nation’s top intelligence official. She was confirmed on Wednesday.

“Met USA’s Director of National Intelligence, @TulsiGabbard in Washington DC. Congratulated her on her confirmation. Discussed various aspects of the India-USA friendship, of which she’s always been a strong votary,” PM Modi posted on X.

Discussions also focused on enhancing intelligence cooperation in counter-terrorism, cybersecurity and emerging threats, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X.

“PM @narendramodi held a productive meeting with US Director of National Intelligence @TulsiGabbard in Washington DC today. Discussions focused on enhancing intelligence cooperation in counter-terrorism, cybersecurity & emerging threats,” the post said.

PM Modi arrived in the US capital on Wednesday around 5.30 p.m. (Thursday, 4 a.m. IST) after a visit to France where he had co-chaired the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron.

PM Modi and Trump will hold bilateral discussions in the White House on Thursday.

“Our nations will keep working closely for the benefit of our people and for a better future for our planet,” PM Modi said on X.

On Wednesday, Gabbard was sworn in as Director of National Intelligence on Wednesday in the Oval Office, hours after the Senate confirmed her, US media reported.

Attorney General Pam Bondi administered the oath of office to Gabbard, who Trump called “an American of extraordinary courage and patriotism”.

He noted that she was deployed three times in the Army National Guard and that she is a former Democratic Congresswoman, riffing “can you believe that?”

Gabbard, 43, a former Democratic Congresswoman from Hawaii, had faced bipartisan scepticism about her suitability for overseeing the spy agencies.

Gabbard thanked the President for his trust in her and vowed to “refocus our intelligence community” after she was sworn in.

“Unfortunately, the American people have very little trust in the intelligence community, largely because they’ve seen the weaponisation and politicisation of an entity that is supposed to be purely focused on ensuring our national security,” the new Intelligence Chief said.

The Senate confirmed her in a 52-48 vote, following two months of deliberations in the over whether Gabbard is qualified enough to lead the intelligence agencies and prepare Trump’s daily intelligence brief.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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