Trump Ready to Pick Up India Ties from Where He Left Off, Says Ex US Official

US President-elect Donald Trump is expected to continue strengthening ties with India, picking up from where he left off during his first term, says Lisa Curtis, his former South Asia policy expert. Curtis, who served as Trump’s senior director for South and Central Asia from 2017 to 2021, highlighted Trump’s goodwill toward India and his strong rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi .

In an interview with PTI, Curtis said, "I think that President Trump will pick up where he left off with India. He clearly has good feelings, goodwill toward India, and I really see this as an opportunity to continue building the relationship and solidifying that partnership."

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During Trump’s first term, from 2017 to 2021, US-India relations reached new heights, with both nations aligning closely to counter China’s growing influence. Curtis noted that Trump and Modi shared a mutual respect, which was evident at major events, like when Modi addressed 50,000 people at Houston’s Astrodome and Trump spoke to 100,000 Indians in Ahmedabad.

"That relationship really helped cement a lot of the progress that was made," Curtis added, pointing to milestones like lifting technology controls on India, enabling India’s purchase of armed drones, and launching the Quad, a strategic group involving the US, India, Japan, and Australia.

However, Curtis mentioned a few “bumps” that could reappear in Trump’s second term, especially around trade issues. Trump often expressed his concerns about Indian tariffs, using Twitter to call for greater market access for American companies. “These tweets caused some irritation but didn’t overshadow the broader relationship,” Curtis said.

Moving forward, Curtis believes that both sides are now more familiar with Trump’s transactional style, which emphasizes securing favorable deals for the US. She expects Trump’s second term to build on the strong foundation laid during his first presidency, with trade and security partnerships continuing to grow.

"Technology controls were lifted on India. India gained access to armed drone technology. Now it's buying 31 Sea Guardian predators. We saw the building up of not only the defence and security relationship, but also confidence and trust," she said, adding that the Quad was started during that period.