KUALA LUMPUR: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s absence from the ASEAN leaders’ summit in Malaysia this week was reportedly due to concerns that a meeting with US President Donald Trump could lead to an uncomfortable discussion about Pakistan, according to people familiar with the matter.
Sources revealed that Modi was apprehensive Trump might once again claim credit for mediating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan following their four-day border conflict in May, a claim New Delhi has consistently denied.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since the conflict, as Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Indian exports in August, partly as a penalty for India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. Trade negotiations between the two nations have since stalled, showing no signs of a breakthrough.
Officials close to Modi’s team said there was little prospect of any meaningful outcome from a bilateral meeting with Trump during the summit. A recent phone call between the two leaders reportedly did not meet India’s expectations.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment on the matter.
Modi, who is currently campaigning for his party in the upcoming Bihar state elections, was advised against attending the summit due to fears that any controversial remarks by Trump about Pakistan could damage his domestic image and be exploited by political rivals.
Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly boasted that he played a key role in ending the India-Pakistan hostilities, even suggesting that his mediation efforts warranted a Nobel Peace Prize. During his visit to Kuala Lumpur for the ASEAN summit, Trump also oversaw a peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia.
On Tuesday, during an event in Tokyo, Trump again referred to his alleged role in preventing a potential “nuclear war” between India and Pakistan, claiming he used trade leverage to push for peace.
“I told Prime Minister Modi, and I told the Prime Minister in Pakistan—great people, very good men—‘We won’t do trade if you’re fighting,’” Trump said.
Pakistan has publicly credited Trump for mediating the ceasefire and even nominated him for the Nobel Prize, while the US president has praised Pakistan’s Army Chief General Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as “great people.”
Modi’s absence marked a rare break in his attendance record at ASEAN summits since taking office in 2014, having missed only the 2022 meeting before this.
Political opponents, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, have accused Modi of avoiding Trump. “PM Modi is frightened of Trump,” Gandhi said in a recent social media post.
Despite a series of follow-up phone calls between the two leaders since September, Modi’s decision to skip the Malaysia summit reflects his cautious approach toward Trump, whose unpredictable remarks have previously embarrassed world leaders like Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa.
Instead of attending in person, Modi delivered a virtual speech to the ASEAN forum, while Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Kuala Lumpur to discuss bilateral ties. Modi is expected to attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg next month, where a meeting with Trump could still take place if trade talks progress.
SOURCE; BLOOMBERG
