Prime Minister Narendra Modi skipped a regional leaders’ summit in Malaysia this week to avoid an encounter with US President Donald Trump and a potential discussion on Pakistan, according to a media report.
Officials were concerned that Trump might reiterate his earlier claim of mediating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after a four-day armed conflict in May, Bloomberg quoted people familiar with the matter as saying.
India has consistently denied that Trump played any role in the truce.
Modi’s absence from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Kuala Lumpur marked a rare break from tradition. Since 2014, he has attended every leaders’ meeting except in 2022, while the 2020 and 2021 editions were held virtually due to the pandemic.
Relations between New Delhi and Washington have deteriorated since the Pakistan conflict five months ago. In August, Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports — half of which were reportedly a penalty for India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. Trade talks have since dragged on with no clear breakthrough in sight.
According to the report, Modi’s team saw little to gain from a bilateral meeting with Trump in Malaysia. A phone call between the two leaders last week “hadn’t met New Delhi’s expectations,” one of the sources told Bloomberg.
The Union Ministry of External Affairs did not respond to a Bloomberg request for comment.
With Modi leading the BJP campaign in the crucial Bihar election set to begin next week, Modi’s aides believed a potentially contentious meeting with Trump could backfire politically, Bloomberg’s sources said.
Any controversial remarks from the US President — particularly about Pakistan — could be seized upon by the Opposition, the report highlighted.
Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for helping to end hostilities between India and Pakistan, even suggesting he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in “resolving that conflict and others.” His visit to Kuala Lumpur this week included the signing of a peace accord between Thailand and Cambodia.
On Tuesday, Trump again highlighted his role in the India-Pakistan ceasefire. “I said to Prime Minister Modi, and I said to the Prime Minister, very nice man and very good man — and the Field Marshal over in Pakistan, I said ‘Look, we’re not going to do any trade if you’re going to be fighting’,” Trump said at an event in Tokyo.
Once seen as close allies — even campaigning for each other during elections — Modi and Trump’s relationship has become a target for domestic criticism.
“Trump is insulting Modi in country after country. Latest is South Korea,” Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, posted on X on Wednesday.
Trump, Rahul wrote “Repeated that he used trade to frighten Modi into stopping Operation Sindoor. 2. Said 7 planes were shot down.”
He added an oft-thrown jab at the PM: “Don’t be scared Modi ji, find the courage to respond.”
Tensions between Modi and Trump surfaced after a 35-minute call in June discussing the conflict, Bloomberg had previously reported.
Instead of travelling to Malaysia, Modi delivered a virtual address to the Asean summit on Sunday.
Modi is expected to attend the Group of 20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg next month, where he will have face time with several global counterparts.
A Modi-Trump meeting could still take place in the coming months if trade talks make progress, the sources told Bloomberg.
