Modi-Trump meet in US: Pursuing national interest is the safest bet

How the twain will meet remains a truly open question and may well come down to personal chemistry.

Narendra Modi’s first meeting with Donald Trump on Monday has a low-key aura, principally because the maverick nature of the United States’ 45th President has set the bar low in terms of expectations. Will Mr Modi be able to replicate the personal rapport he enjoyed with Barack Obama, reversing the deterioration of Indo-US relations in the last days of the United Progressive Alliance? Although they are deemed to have many things in common, Mr Trump’s erratic policy stances — radically reversing some or depending on doubtful facts for others — add a serious element of uncertainty to India’s negotiating position