It is a standard practice to hold discussions before a press meeting. However, India this time has preferred against holding a media interaction following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in France in June, citing concerns over what the government describes the U.S. president’s unpredictable behavior.
The clarification came after the U.S. Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, said that New Delhi had informed the American side before the meeting that it did not want to hold a joint press briefing. According to another government source in the know, discussions over arrangements for leaders and public appearances are a routine diplomatic practice.
The exchange between the representatives of the two nations comes amid uncertainty over India-US bilateral trade, which has remained under discussion.
Speaking at an event in Delhi last week, Gor recalled the events surrounding the Modi-Trump meeting in the French resort town. According to Gor, Trump had asked him before the meeting what issues the Indian side was likely to raise and whether it had any specific requests. Gor said he told Trump that the Ministry of External Affairs had one request, that it preferred no questions being asked from the media. However, Gor said Trump subsequently invited questions from journalists after the meeting, leading to a media interaction that lasted for nearly 45 minutes.
“We were behind the scenes, behind the stage, and at one point it was just the president and I, and he asked me what the Indians are going to raise. We went over some topics. And he said, ‘do they have any questions?’ The MEA had one. I told the president the Indians prefer no questions. He said, ‘sure, no problem’,” Gor said.
The leaders met days after Indian sailors were killed in a U.S. military strike during its war with Iran. The Prime Minister had pointed out at the human cost of the disruptions of the Strait of Hormuz and called for protection of maritime trade routes.