‘May our two democracies illuminate the world’: PM Modi to Trump after Diwali greetings

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a morning tweet today, thanked US President Donald Trump for his warm wishes during the Diwali celebration. “Thank you, President Trump, for your phone call and warm Diwali greetings. On this festival of lights, may our two great democracies continue to illuminate the world with hope and stand united against terrorism in all its forms,” PM Modi said on X.

PM Modi’s post came after US President Donald Trump lit a lamp at an event, which was organised to mark Diwali at the White House. He said he gave Diwali wishes to PM Modi over the phone, and also talked about ongoing issues like Russian oil imports and the India-Pakistan conflict. The Indian Ambassador to the US, Vinay Kwatra, FBI chief Kash Patel, US intelligence head Tulsi Gabbard, new US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, also attended the Diwali event at the White House, along with many Indian American business leaders.

“Deeply honoured to join President Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump @POTUS at the White House today to celebrate Diwali. Wished him on behalf of Prime Minister @narendramodi a Happy Diwali and thanked him for this beautiful gesture. Warm Diwali greetings to all celebrating, especially the vibrant 5 million-strong Indian diaspora in the U.S,” Kwatra said on X. 

The FBI chief also posted on X, saying: “Happy Diwali from the Oval with @POTUS...Happy Diwali from the Oval with @POTUS." Once again, Trump described PM Modi as a "great leader" and a “friend”. He also talked about his trade-focused diplomacy to de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan.

Despite several months of negotiations, India and the U.S. have not been able to reach a consensus on a trade agreement, causing massive trade losses, especially to India, for which the U.S. is one of the biggest trade markets.  Two weeks back, US Ambassador-designate Sergio Gor met PM Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, as the Trump tariffs bite, the value of the Indian shipments to the United States continues to slide ever since the US imposed additional tariffs on goods originating from India. The monthly trade data for September showed that the overall exports declined 20% to touch $5.5 billion in September, from $6.87 billion in August. This has been the fourth month of consecutive decline, says an analysis carried out by Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).

September was the first full month in which Indian goods faced Washington’s 50% tariff on most products. “The decline began after May 2025, when exports rose 4.8% to $8.8 billion, marking the last month of growth before the duties took hold. Exports then fell 5.7% in June to $8.3 billion, 3.6% in July to $8.0 billion, and a steep 16.3% in August to $6.7 billion, before collapsing again in September,” said Ajay Srivastava, founder of GTRI.

According to his analysis, between May and September, India’s exports to the U.S. have dropped by almost 37.5%, wiping out more than $3.3 billion in monthly shipment value. He also says that the data confirms that the United States has become India’s most severely affected market since the tariff escalation began, with sectors such as textiles, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, and chemicals suffering the heaviest losses.