REUTERS, Washington

US President Donald Trump has said India “will do what’s right” when it comes to taking back Indian immigrants who came to the US illegally, following a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The leaders spoke on Monday, their first conversation since Trump’s inauguration last week.

Trump also stressed the importance of India buying more American-made security equipment and moving toward a fair bilateral trading relationship.

Trump later himself told reporters that Modi will visit the US sometime in February. The White House said earlier that plans for a Modi visit were discussed by the two leaders.

In what the White House called a “productive call,” the leaders discussed expanding and deepening cooperation and issues including security in the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe.

Reuters reported last week that Indian and US diplomats are trying to arrange a meeting of the leaders as early as February.

Trump and Modi enjoyed warm relations in the US president’s first term, but during his campaign for re-election Trump called India a “very big abuser” on trade and vowed to use tariffs on global imports into the US to correct imbalances.

Trump has also threatened the BRICS group of nations, of which India is a part, with tariffs if they did not accept his demand of committing to not create a new currency.

In Monday’s call, Trump “emphasised the importance of India increasing its procurement of American-made security equipment and moving toward a fair bilateral trading relationship,” a White House statement said.

The US is India’s largest trading partner and two-way trade surpassed $118 billion in 2023/24, with India posting a surplus of $32 billion.

India is also an important strategic partner in US efforts to counter China, and in a social media post on Monday, Modi called Trump a “dear friend” and said they were “committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership.”