Biarritz (France): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States of America (USA) President Donald Trump will be meeting on the sidelines of G7 summit in Biarritz, France on Monday in what will be the first face-to-face interaction between the two leaders after India abrogated Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, a move that has seen Pakistan cry foul. It is also the first meeting after President Trump's comment that he was ready to mediate between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.
India has made it clear once again that no mediation if required on the Kashmir issue with the US administration also backing down. The US too has clarified that the move by the Modi government to scrap Articled 370 and end Jammu and Kashmir's special status is India's internal matter and also said that Pakistan must stop the infiltration of terrorists across the Line of Control (LoC). The US also asked Pakistan to crack down on terrorist groups and their leaders operating on its territory.
"India's decision to rescind Article 370 in Kashmir is an internal decision, but certainly with regional implications. And President Trump will likely want to hear how Prime Minister Modi intends to calm regional tensions in light of this significant move. And certainly, President Trump is also calling on Pakistan to prevent the infiltration of militants across the Line of Control that divides Kashmir and to crack down on groups on its territory that have attacked India in the past," said a US official on Friday.
Their meeting in Biarritz comes about two months after the two spoke to each other on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in end-June, 2019, in Japan's Osaka. PM Modi and President Trump had spoken to each other on phone last Monday (August 19, 2019) with the former reiterating that Pakistan's anti-India attitude was not going to help in maintaining peace in the region. The 30-minute talk saw the two leaders speak on a range of bilateral and regional issues.
India-US strategic partnership, defence cooperation, counterterrorism, trade and other bilateral issues are also likely to be discussed during the Modi-Trump meeting.
