COP29 host urges collaboration as deal negotiations enter final stage

NEW DELHI: Indian and US diplomats are trying to arrange a meeting in February between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump in Washington, two Indian sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.
India, a strategic partner of the United States in its efforts to counter China, is keen to enhance trade relations with the US and make it easier for its citizens to get skilled worker visas, two topics that will be on the agenda if the leaders meet, the sources said.
Trump’s return to the White House has raised worries among officials in New Delhi about imposition of tariffs on India, which he has listed as one of the countries that has high tariffs on US products and has indicated that he favored reciprocating them.
But the sources said New Delhi was willing to offer some concessions to Washington — although it has not been officially informed of any plans by US to impose reciprocal tariffs — and was also open to offering incentives to attract more US investment in India.
Officials hope that an early meeting between the pair will help get ties off to a positive start in Trump’s new term, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Trump visited India in February 2020 during his previous term in office. Then, he was cheered by more than 100,000 Indians at a cricket stadium in Modi’s political homeland in Ahmedabad, where he promised India “an incredible trade deal.”
In 2019, Trump held a “Howdy Modi” rally with Modi in Houston, drawing 50,000 people, mainly Indian Americans.
Laying the groundwork for a new Modi-Trump meeting is also on the agenda of Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who attended Trump’s inauguration on Monday and met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The United States is India’s largest trading partner and two-way trade between the two countries surpassed $118 billion in 2023/24, with India posting a trade surplus of $32 billion.
Other topics of discussion between the two leaders would be enhancing partnership in technology and defense sectors, the sources said.
Migration would be another area of discussion, as Trump has pledged a crackdown on illegal immigration but has said he is open to legal migration of skilled workers.
India, known for its massive pool of IT professionals, many of whom work across the world, accounts for the bulk of the skilled worker H-1B visas issued by the United States.
Rubio discussed with Jaishankar concerns related to “irregular migration” on Tuesday, the US State Department said.

ISLAMABAD: Afghans who fled after the Taliban seized power appealed Wednesday to President Donald Trump to exempt them from an order suspending the relocation of refugees to the United States, some saying they risked their lives to support US troops.
An estimated 15,000 Afghans are waiting to be relocated to the United States since the Taliban takeover in 2021, when US troops pulled out of the country after two decades. They want to resettle in the US via an American government program set up to help Afghans at risk under the Taliban because of their work with the US government, media, aid agencies and rights groups.
But in his first days in office, Trump’s administration announced the US Refugee Admissions Program would be suspended from Jan. 27 for at least three months. During that period, the White House said that the secretary of homeland security in consultation with the secretary of state will submit a report to the president whether the resumption of the program is in the US interest.
“Many of us risked our lives to support the US mission as interpreters, contractors, human rights defenders, and allies,” an advocacy group called Afghan USRAP Refugees — named after the US refugee program — said in an open letter to Trump, members of Congress and human rights defenders.
“The Taliban regards us as traitors, and returning to Afghanistan would expose us to arrest, torture, or death,” the group said. “In Pakistan, the situation is increasingly untenable. Arbitrary arrests, deportations, and insecurity compound our distress.”
Hadisa Bibi, a former student in Kabul who fled to neighboring Pakistan last month, said she read in newspapers that Trump suspended the refugee program.
“Prior to restrictions on women’s education in Afghanistan, I was a university student,” she said. “Given the risks I face as a women’s rights advocate, I was hoping for a swift resettlement to the United States. This would not only allow me to continue my higher education but also offer a safer and brighter future.”
She said she witnessed several Afghans arrested by Pakistani police, which left her in fear, “confined to my room like a prisoner.”
According to the Afghan USRAP Refugees group, flights to the US for many Afghans had been scheduled for January, February and March after they were interviewed by the International Organization for Migration and US Embassy officials.
“We seek the reversal of the ban on the refugee program on humanitarian ground,” said Ahmad Shah, a member of the group, who was hoping to leave Pakistan for the United States in March after undergoing all interviews and medical tests.