The White House on Monday reaffirmed India’s critical role as a strategic ally in the Indo-Pacific region, while also underlining the strong personal rapport between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Responding to a question from ANI during a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “India remains a very strategic ally in the Asia Pacific, and the President has a very good relationship with Prime Minister Modi, and he will continue to have that.”
Her remarks come as India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is in the United States attending the QUAD Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. On Monday, Jaishankar also inaugurated a UN exhibition titled “The Human Cost of Terrorism,” bringing global attention to the impact of state-sponsored terrorism.
The QUAD—comprising the US, India, Japan, and Australia—is a strategic partnership aimed at promoting a free, open, and resilient Indo-Pacific. Originally formed in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the group has since evolved into a key pillar of regional security cooperation.
Leavitt’s comments also follow the announcement that President Trump has accepted Prime Minister Modi’s invitation to attend the upcoming QUAD Summit in New Delhi later this year. The invitation was extended during a phone call between the two leaders on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, “For the next meeting of QUAD, PM Modi invited President Trump to India. While accepting the invitation, President Trump said that he is excited to come to India.”
Leavitt also addressed the status of the US-India trade negotiations during the briefing, noting that a bilateral trade deal is in its final stages and that the President and his trade team will be making announcements soon.