Indian PM Modi to visit US next week

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States from February 12 to 13 and hold talks with President Donald Trump, India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Friday.

The visit follows an invitation from Trump and comes just weeks after he returned to the White House for his second term.

It also comes at a time Modi's government is facing criticism over the treatment of 104 Indian immigrants deported by Washington this week as part of Trump's immigration agenda.

Modi will visit France from February 10 to 12 before heading to Washington, Misri said.

Trump spoke with Modi on January 27, when he discussed immigration and stressed the importance of India buying more American-made security equipment and fair bilateral trading ties.

The two leaders also discussed meeting soon and "that is the promise and the commitment that is now unfolding", Misri told reporters, adding that Modi's visit will "give further direction and impetus to this very important partnership".

India, a strategic partner of the United States in its efforts to counter China, is keen to enhance trade relations with the US and make it easier for its citizens to get skilled worker visas.

It is also keen to avoid tariffs that Trump has threatened in the past, citing India's high tariffs on US products.

India plans to review import tariffs on over 30 items, including luxury cars, solar cells and chemicals, a senior finance ministry official told Reuters this week, potentially leading to increased imports from the US as global trade tensions grow.

The United States is India's largest trading partner and two-way trade between the two countries surpassed $118 billion in 2023-24, with India posting a trade surplus of $32 billion.