Senior government officials on Monday, 24 August confirmed that India adopted a deliberate 'cautious approach' during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian, France in June 2025, citing Trump's well-documented 'unpredictable behaviour'. The disclosure came in direct response to remarks by US Ambassador Sergio Gor, who had claimed at a weekend event that India had 'specifically requested' the US side to avoid any joint media interaction after the two leaders met.

India's Official Position

Officials aware of the matter pushed back on the framing, emphasising that discussions around public appearance arrangements are standard practice before any high-level diplomatic visit. 'In this regard, the Indian side communicated its standard practice for such visits... Delegations when meeting the US President are wary about his unpredictable behaviour, as may be seen from his interactions with the President of South Africa, Ukraine etc. Thus, the cautious approach by India,' one official said.

The clarification signals that New Delhi views its preference for controlled media settings not as a concession or special request, but as a routine diplomatic safeguard — one that other countries have also exercised when engaging with the current US administration.

What Happened at the June 18 Evian Meeting

The Modi-Trump bilateral took place on 18 June 2025 in Evian. During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi commended President Trump for efforts that had contributed to an understanding aimed at ending the conflict in West Asia and restoring regional stability. Modi also underlined the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce through the Strait of Hormuz, and stressed the need to ensure the safety of seafarers.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) after the meeting noted that the two leaders reviewed substantial progress under the India-US COMPACT — Catalyzing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce and Technology — since their Washington DC meeting in February 2025. Key developments across defence, strategic technologies, energy, and bilateral trade were welcomed by both sides.

Trade Agreement Talks and Strategic Partnership

The PMO statement also noted that the two leaders expressed particular satisfaction over progress in negotiations toward an interim Bilateral Trade Agreement, instructing officials to work toward a 'balanced, mutually beneficial, and commercially meaningful agreement' at the earliest. Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership across all domains.

The Broader Context

Trump's interactions with foreign leaders have repeatedly generated diplomatic friction — his meetings with the presidents of South Africa and Ukraine were cited by the Indian official as illustrative of the unpredictability that prompted New Delhi's careful approach. This is not the first time India has calibrated its diplomatic choreography around the current US administration's communication style. Notably, the Modi government has consistently sought to project the India-US relationship as a strategic priority while simultaneously managing the optics of each bilateral encounter with considerable care.

As trade negotiations advance and the COMPACT framework matures, the management of public diplomacy between the two nations is likely to remain as consequential as the substance of the talks themselves.