'PM Modi Great Friend': US Embassy Quotes Trump's Praise For India Amid Prolonged Trade Deal Talks

The US Embassy in India has quoted President Donald Trump's praise for the country and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, amid the prolonged trade deal talks between the two countries.

Trump has called India an "amazing country" and said that America has found a "great friend" in the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to the embassy's social media post.

"India is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations. It is an amazing country and an important strategic partner for America in the Indo-Pacific region. We have a great friend in PM Modi", the President said.

These comments come at a time when both countries have been engaged in extensive discussions to arrive at an agreement for a bilateral trade.

On Monday, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal had pointed out that both India and US are close to cracking a 'framework deal' for trade, though he said conclusion of the deal cannot be put under a timeline as of yet.

As many as six formal rounds of discussions for a full-fledged bilateral trade agreement or BTA and framework deal for tariffs have been conducted so far, as per Agrawal.

"We're in a zone where formal rounds may not be needed but engagement remains on", he stated.

India and the US began trade deal-related discussions this year, but the talks faced a brief period of disruption after President Donald Trump slapped Indian imports with tariffs as high as 50%.

The commerce secretary also talked about India's textile export to the United States and said that the US is a good market for textiles even though tariffs will have some impact.

Earlier on Dec. 11, Trump and Modi had a phone call which the Indian Prime Minister called very "warm and engaging" in a post on social media platform 'X'.

"Had a very warm and engaging conversation with President Trump. We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments," the post stated.

Modi added that both countries will "continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity".