Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump exchanged pleasantries and spoke briefly at the G7 Summit in France on Tuesday, marking the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders in 16 months.
The two leaders were seated next to each other for an outreach session of the G7 Summit being held at the resort of Evian-les-Bains. Footage beamed from the venue showed Modi walking over to Trump, who was seated. They shook hands, and Trump rose from his chair to talk to Modi for a short while. Modi smiled as Trump patted him on the arm.
The two leaders last met in Washington in February last year, though they have spoken on the phone several times since then. There was no immediate official word from the Indian or American side on the conversation.
Modi and Trump are expected to hold a bilateral meeting on the margins of the summit on Wednesday.
India and the US are currently working to reset their ties after a year of strains not witnessed in the past two decades, triggered by the US President’s trade and tariff policies.
