Thursday’s summit marked the first time that a Pakistani prime minister was invited to the White House since July 2019, during Trump’s first term.
Sharif also attended Trump’s meeting with Arab leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
Relations between the U.S. and Pakistan are improving. In June, Trump invited Asim Munir, the head of Pakistan’s army, to the White House.
The move was seen as returning the favor of Munir advocating that Trump be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize following a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Trump has said his own efforts prevented a war between the nuclear-armed neighbors in May during their brief armed clash.
In July, the U.S. and Pakistan signed an agreement to cooperate on developing Pakistan’s oil resources, bolstering economic ties.
Following the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, Pakistan remains an important partner for Washington’s counterterrorism effort.
Meanwhile, U.S.-India relations are cooling. The New York Times reported on Aug. 30 that, when Trump implied in a June 17 phone call that Modi should nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize in light of the Pakistan ceasefire, Modi rebutted that the U.S. had nothing to do with it.
While Pakistan has called Trump’s role in ending the conflict “constructive,” Modi has taken a different stance. His critics at home have accused him of ignoring long-standing policy that issues between India and Pakistan should be decided by the two countries alone, without mediation by other nations.
India, which historically has had close military and economic ties with Russia, did not join the U.S.- and Europe-led sanctions against Moscow over its war against Ukraine.
In late August, the U.S. imposed a 25% additional tariff on India as punishment for buying crude oil from Russia despite the sanctions against Moscow. Added to the 25% “reciprocal” tariff already slapped on India, New Delhi has been hit with a total rate of 50%, on par with Brazil for the highest of any country.
Trump also has expressed dissatisfaction with the U.S. trade imbalance with India.
Trump and Modi have made some public efforts to repair relations. Trump called Modi on Sept. 16 to congratulate him on his birthday, later praising him in a Truth Social post for “doing a tremendous job.”
Modi thanked Trump for the phone call in a post on X, calling him “my friend” and adding, “We support your initiatives towards a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.”
Even so, a face-to-face meeting in New York in late September — which had been discussed within both governments — did not materialize after Modi decided not to visit the U.S.
Washington had been moving strategically closer to India to drive a wedge into New Delhi’s relations with Russia and to counter China. New Delhi is due to host a summit this fall for the Quad, the security grouping formed by Japan, the U.S., Australia and India. Trump has no plans to attend the meeting, The New York Times reports.
The article appeared in asia.nikkei
