US President Donald Trump kept Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif waiting for nearly an hour before their meeting at the White House on Thursday, even as the talks were billed as a sign of improving ties between Washington and the South Asian nuclear power.
Sharif was one of eight senior officials from Arab or Muslim-majority countries who met with President Trump on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly this week, joining talks focused on finding a strategy to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
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Ahead of his scheduled meeting with Sharif and Field Marshal, Trump addressed reporters from the Oval Office, saying, “They’re coming, and they may be in this room right now. I don’t know, because we’re late.”
Sharif arrived at the White House shortly before 5 p.m. as Trump was signing executive orders and talking with reporters. The meeting between the two leaders was closed to the media, with Pakistan’s delegation leaving the White House at 6:18 p.m.
On September 23, Sharif also had an informal exchange with Trump following a meeting between the US President and leaders of eight Islamic-Arab countries, which also included Pakistan.
Tensions flared after India ramped up purchases of discounted Russian oil following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, allowing Trump to impose steep tariffs on India in a bid to exert indirect economic pressure on Russia.
Furthermore, Washington and Islamabad signed a trade agreement in July that not only aims to reduce tariffs for Pakistan but also paves the way for U.S. investment in developing the country’s largely untapped oil reserves.
Sharif has found favour with Trump after publicly endorsing him for a Nobel Peace Prize, praising the administration’s role in easing tensions between Pakistan and India. The two nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to a ceasefire in May following U.S.-brokered talks, which helped defuse the most serious military standoff between them in decades.
Unlike Sharif, Modi has declined to indulge Trump’s attempt to claim credit for brokering the ceasefire.
Modi was recently photographed with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a security summit in Tianjin, in northern China. That led to a social media jab from Trump.
“Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China,” Trump wrote. “May they have a long and prosperous future together!”
But Trump has taken a warmer tack with Modi recently.
Last week, Trump offered hope that trade issues with India could be resolved.
“I am pleased to announce that India, and the United States of America, are continuing negotiations to address the Trade Barriers between our two Nations,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“I look forward to speaking with my very good friend, Prime Minister Modi, in the upcoming weeks. I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our Great Countries!”
They’re coming, and they may be in this room right now. I don’t know, because we’re late.
Trump hit India with tariffs up to 50% last month after imposing an additional 25% tariff on the country related to its purchases of Russian oil, which helps Moscow pay for its war in Ukraine.
