India’s Prime Minister Modi Cancels UN Visit Amid Fraying Relations With America

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India has canceled plans to visit the United States for this month’s United Nations General Assembly meetings, Indian media are reporting Saturday. It is the latest sign of America’s deteriorating relations with India, the world’s most populous nation.Newspapers across India carried a report from the PTI news agency, which cited a revised provisional list of speakers for the annual U.N. talkfest, running this year from September 23 to 29. No reason for the cancelation was given, but the agency said India will instead be represented by its external affairs minister, S. Jaishankar.President Trump is slated to be the second speaker on the opening day of the U.N. session, following Brazil.Mr. Modi’s decision not to come to New York follows on the heels of a highly publicized visit this week to China, where he was photographed smiling and chatting with Presidents Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia.“Global governance has reached a new crossroads,” Mr. Xi was quoted as saying at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in remarks apparently aimed at Washington. “We must continue to take a clear stand against hegemonism and power politics, and practice true multilateralism.”Mr. Trump remarked ironically about the meeting on his Truth Social site, posting, “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!”The American president softened his remarks in the Oval Office on Friday, telling reporters in the Oval Office that he will “always be friends with Modi.”“He’s a great prime minister. He’s great. But I just don’t like what he’s doing at this particular moment,” Mr. Trump said. “But India and the United States have a special relationship. There’s nothing to worry about. We just have moments on occasion.”Through several administrations, the United States has worked to foster closer relations with India, seeing it as a counterweight to the growing power and influence of strategic rival China.Messrs. Trump and Modi inked a series of bilateral agreements during a visit to Washington by the Indian leader in February. The White House said the pair had “affirmed their commitment to a dynamic defense partnership spanning multiple domains.”But the relationship began to sour during tough trade negotiations later in the year, which broke down after five rounds of talks and left the Asian giant facing a 25 percent tariff on exports to America. An apparent breaking point came when Mr. Trump doubled the tariff to 50 percent to punish India for its refusal to stop buying oil from Russia.Friction was also reported over Mr. Trump’s claim that his intervention was responsible for a May 2025 ceasefire ending military hostilities between India and Pakistan. Mr. Modi insisted that the ceasefire was purely the result of bilateral negotiations with Pakistan.Despite intense pressure from Indian media to stand up to Mr. Trump’s “bullying,” Mr. Modi appeared happy to seize upon the latest change of rhetoric from the Oval Office. “India and the US have a very positive and forward-looking Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership,” Mr Modi wrote on X.Mr. Modi is not the only world leader who has crossed swords with Mr. Trump and who will not be at the U.N. General Assembly session. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, another country that has been hit by 50 percent American tariffs, has announced he will not be at New York to lead off the procession of speakers.

India’s Prime Minister Modi Cancels UN Visit Amid Fraying Relations With America

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