Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday thanked US President Donald Trump for his Diwali greetings, and expressed his wish that the "two great democracies" continued to illuminate the world with hope.
"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," the Prime Minister said in a post on X, a day after Trump claimed to have spoken to him on trade issues.
On the occasion of Diwali, President Trump on Tuesday lit a traditional brass lamp at the White House, saying that it symbolised "the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and good over evil."
The White House Diwali ceremony was attended by key administration officials including FBI Director Kash Patel, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai, Ambassador of India to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Washington's envoy to New Delhi Sergio Gor.
Also in attendance was a delegation of Indian-American business leaders.
Shortly before the ceremony, Trump addressed reporters at the White House, during which he called PM Modi a "great person" and a "great friend".
"Let me also extend our warmest wishes to the people of India. I just spoke to your Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) today. We had a great conversation. We talked about trade. We talked about a lot of things, but mostly the world of trade. He's very interested in that," he said.
The US President added that the conversation briefly touched on regional peace, noting that he had previously urged both India and Pakistan to avoid conflict.
"Although we did talk a little while ago about let's have no wars with Pakistan. And I think the fact that trade was involved, I was able to talk about that. And we have no war with Pakistan and India. And that was a very, very good thing," he said.
Trump's latest conversation with PM Modi came a week after the US President claimed that the Prime Minister had assured him that india would stop buying Russian oil.
The Centre, however, rejected the claim, clarifying that no such conversation had taken place.
Source: India Today