 "During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to the US in February, the two countries vowed to double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. Reuters")
US President Donald Trump has hailed his friendship with India as he addressed world leaders at a summit in Egypt held shortly after the hostage-prisoner swap under the Gaza ceasefire commenced.
“India is a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top and he’s just done a fantastic job. I think Pakistan and India are going to live very nicely together,” Trump said as he directed his comments at Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was also present at the Summit.
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, the US president has repeated his claim dozens of times that he “helped settle” the conflict between India and Pakistan.
What did Sharif say?
As India categorically denies Trump’s involvement in ending its conflict with Pakistan, Sharif has “thanked” the US president for bringing peace between the two neighbouring countries.
“Pakistan had nominated President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his outstanding (and) extraordinary contributions to first stop the war between India and Pakistan and then achieve a ceasefire along with his very wonderful team,” he said.
Sharif said he would like to nominate Trump again for the Nobel Peace Prize for “saving millions of lives not only in South Asia but also in the Middle East”.
PM Modi reacts to hostage release
Meanwhile, PM Modi said, “We welcome the release of all hostages after over two years of captivity. Their freedom stands as a tribute to the courage of their families, the unwavering peace efforts of President Trump and the strong resolve of Prime Minister Netanyahu. We support President Trump’s sincere efforts to bring peace to the region,” in a post on X.