Washington, Feb 14 (IANS): US President Donald Trump told Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "We missed you, we missed you a lot," as he met his friend after five years.
As he was welcomed to the White House on Thursday, PM Modi gave him a hug and told him, "It's great to see you again."
This was PM Modi's first meeting with Trump after his re-election and they picked up their bonhomie where they had left off.
Later at a news conference, they referred to their long friendship and recalled their earlier meetings.
Trump said, "I am thrilled to welcome my friend Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India back to the White House."
"He is a special man," he said.
He recalled PM Modi's hospitality to him and his wife Melania in India in 2020 and said he was happy to reciprocate.
The "Namaste Trump" rally hosted by PM Modi in Ahmedabad was "tremendous", he said.
PM Modi said he was expressing "my heartfelt gratitude to my friend President Trump for the grand welcome and hospitality accorded to me".
Their last meeting as President and Prime Minister was in February 2020 when Trump visited India and he was hosted at the mammoth "Namaste Trump" rally of more than 129,000 people in Ahmedabad.
Before that, Trump joined PM Modi at the "Howdy Modi" rally of Indian Americans in Houston in 2019 when they were feted by a crowd of about 50,000 people.
As they readied for their formal talks, Trump introduced PM Modi to his Cabinet members and nominees.
Trump's adviser Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, who had met Modi earlier in the day greeted him again.
Trump welcomed PM Modi at the West Wing lobby in the White House.
US President introduced PM Modi to other officials, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino shared a picture of PM Modi and Trump on X.
While sharing the picture on X, Scavino said, "Behind Scenes in the West Wing lobby -- @POTUS Trump welcomes Prime Minister @NarendraModi of India to the @WhiteHouse."
The Indian delegation including External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, and India's Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra arrived at the White House soon after PM Modi's arrival.
Ahead of PM Modi's arrival, Indian flags were being put up at the White House.
Meeting Donald Trump at the White House, PM Modi told the US President that he was delighted to see him back for a second term. He also expressed confidence that the two countries will continue to advance India-US strategic partnership with the “same bond, trust and excitement”.
“I am delighted to see you back in the White House I congratulate you on behalf of 140 crore people of India...people of India gave me an opportunity to serve as PM for the third time. In this term, I have the opportunity to work with President Trump once again for the next four years, and it is a great pleasure. I can say from my past experience of working with you in your first term, we will continue to advance India-US strategic partnership with the same bond, same trust and the same excitement,” PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister is among the first few world leaders to visit the United States following President Trump's inauguration. He has been invited to visit within three weeks of the new administration taking office.
Since November 2024, PM Modi and Trump have spoken on the phone twice.
EAM Jaishankar attended the inauguration ceremony of Trump as PM Modi's Special Envoy. During the visit, EAM Jaishankar also met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and participated in the QUAD Foreign Ministers' meeting in January 2025.
Ahead of his meeting with Trump at the White House, PM Modi held bilateral meetings with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Indian-origin entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard.
PM Modi landed in the US at the invitation of Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time). He travelled to the US after concluding his three-day visit to France. During his visit to France, PM Modi met with US Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday (local time).
Notably, India and the US launched a "strategic partnership" in 2005. The ties between the two nations were elevated to a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership during Trump's visit to India in February 2020.