Modi, Trump agree to deploy full strength of Indo-US cooperation against Covid-19

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and American President Donald Trump on Saturday agreed to “deploy full strength” of India-US partnership to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, which wreaked havoc not only in the two countries, but also around the world.

Modi and Trump discussed about the pandemic over phone. This was the first bilateral engagement between the two leaders after the Prime Minister hosted the US President, who was on a two-day visit to India on February 24 and 25.

“Had an extensive telephone conversation with President @realDonaldTrump. We had a good discussion, and agreed to deploy the full strength of the India-US partnership to fight COVID-19,” Modi posted on Twitter after speaking to Trump.

The Prime Minister and the US President exchanged notes on the respective steps taken in each country for mitigating the health and economic impacts of the pandemic, according to a press-release issued by the government after the two leaders spoke to each other on phone.

The two leaders also touched upon the significance of practices such as Yoga and Ayurveda (traditional Indian herbal medicine practice) for ensuring physical and mental well-being in these difficult times. They agreed that their officials would remain in close touch with respect to the global COVID-19 crisis, the Prime Minister’s Office stated.

Modi and Trump, according to the sources, discussed the ways to step up coordination among the healthcare providers and researchers of the two nations to deal with the pandemic, which infected over one million people around the world and killed over 60,000 of them.

They also had discussion about the Indians in America, including the students and the Information Technology (IT) professionals, who could not return despite closure of the varsities and the hostels due to the lockdown in the US. He also requested the US President to ensure that the visas issued by American Government to the Indians – both students and professionals – are extended without any hassle, if the validity of the travel documents expire during the lockdown, sources told the DH.

Trump also thanked Modi for assistance provided by the Government of India to the American Embassy in New Delhi and the American Consulates in the other cities of the country to evacuate the US nationals from India, sources said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to each other over phone twice recently – on March 15 and on April 1. They discussed coordinated response by India and the US to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister also spoke to Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez Perez-Castejon, over telephone on Saturday and discussed the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Had a productive telephone conversation with President @jairbolsonaro about how India and Brazil can join forces against the COVID-19 pandemic,” tweeted Modi.

The Prime Minister earlier spoke to several of his counterparts around the world and discussed about the pandemic and the global response to it – including Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Emmanuel Macron of France. He also had a video-conference with the SAARC leaders and participated in a G20 virtual summit convened to discuss the crisis.