India dismisses Bloomberg report claiming NSA Ajit Doval met US officials in Washington, saying no such visit or meeting took place between the two sides. India on Thursday dismissed a media report claiming that India-US relations improved after National Security Adviser Ajit Doval travelled to Washington last September and told American officials that New Delhi wouldn’t be bullied, with the External Affairs Ministry (EAM) saying that no such visit took place.
“Regarding the report by Bloomberg, I would like to say that there is absolutely no basis for that report. No such meeting or no such visit has taken place,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly media briefing when asked about the report.
Bloomberg had reported that Doval met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington during the visit in early September and said the two nations should put the acrimony in their relations behind them and return to negotiating a trade deal. The report claimed Doval also told Rubio that India would not be bullied by US President Donald Trump and his top aides, and that New Delhi was willing to wait out Trump’s term.
India-US ties had sharply deteriorated last August after Trump increased tariffs on Indian exports to 50% and accused India of financing Russia’s war in Ukraine through oil purchases. He also criticised India’s economic policies and tariff regime.
Earlier this week, Modi and Trump announced that US tariffs on Indian goods would be reduced to 18% as part of a trade deal. The development came almost a year after the two sides began negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement. Officials from both sides are currently finalising the contours of the trade deal.
