During his visit to the U.S., Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed he was going to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but the meeting never took place.
PM Modi’s 55-hour trip was jam-packed with diplomatic engagements, while Trump was deeply involved in his presidential campaign with only six weeks left before the election. On Saturday, PM Modi attended the Quad summit with U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Monday was dedicated to PM Modi’s address at the Summit of the Future and meetings with global leaders, followed by his return flight to India. Sunday saw PM Modi addressing a diaspora rally in a New York suburb, and while he had a brief window for additional meetings later in the day, Trump was busy at his rally in North Carolina.
Later that evening, PM Modi met with Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, Nepal’s Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, and Kuwait Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid. There were also media speculations about a possible meeting with Mohammad Yunus, Bangladesh’s de facto Prime Minister, on the sidelines of the Summit of the Future. Some reports even suggested that PM Modi was deliberately avoiding Yunus.
Ultimately, the timing made the meeting impossible. India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri explained during a press conference that the chief advisor of Bangladesh had not yet arrived, so there was no opportunity for the meeting to take place.
On Monday, while Yunus was initially scheduled to speak at the summit, it was Touhid Hossain, the foreign affairs advisor for Bangladesh’s interim government, who took his place.
Additionally, PM Modi managed to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Vietnamese President To Lam, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan before wrapping up his trip.
