After months of holding his silence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi played his diplomatic hand during the G7 summit in Canada to reset two matters of consequence in India’s favour. First, in a telephonic conversation with Donald Trump, he set the record straight on the US president’s claim of mediating peace between India and Pakistan. During the 35-minute call on Wednesday, Modi made it clear that India has never sought third-party mediation and there was no consideration of a trade deal influencing the talks with Pakistan. He said the ceasefire was agreed between the military leaderships of the two countries during talks that were held at Pakistan’s behest. After listening to the points conveyed, Trump expressed support for India’s fight against terror, according to a report of the conversation given by the foreign secretary.
During the call, which took place on Trump’s initiative as he had to leave the summit early to attend to the Israel-Iran crisis, Modi also declined Trump’s request to stop by for a one-on-one in Washington on his way back from Canada, citing prior engagements. The conversation ended with Modi inviting Trump to the Quad summit in India later this year. In his address at the G7 outreach summit, without mentioning Trump, Modi also de-hyphenated the false equivalence between the victim and the perpetrator of terror.
However, ever eager to ingratiate himself as a deal-maker at global flashpoints, Trump reiterated his claim during an interaction with the media at the White House just a few hours after the call. Despite the typical Trumpian U-turn, the PM’s clear stance during the conversation should give him a firm footing while facing the opposition at parliament’s monsoon session.
Another significant outcome of Modi’s trip was the decision to end two years of diplomatic impasse between India and Canada by posting high commissioners to each other’s capitals at the earliest. Justin Trudeau’s successor Mark Carney hit the reset button after talks with Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit. It is a win for both sides as India has a large diaspora in Canada and Ottawa is struggling to stabilise an economy that is being mauled by Trump’s tariffs. In this uncertain world, it is not easy to forge breakthroughs propitious for peace. That credit must be given where it is due.