MEA reiterates commitment to ‘balanced’ India-U.S. trade deal; says Lutnick’s claim ‘not accurate’
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday (January 9, 2026) reiterated India’s commitment to a “balanced” trade pact with the United States and said the latest remarks made by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were not “accurate”. Mr. Lutnick had earlier said that the India-U.S. trade deal did not happen because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not call U.S. President Trump to wrap up the final stages of the trade deal.
Taliban diplomat to take charge of Afghan embassy in New Delhi
Nearly five years after the Taliban wrested control of Kabul, the first Taliban-appointed diplomat arrived in India to take charge of the Afghanistan Embassy in Delhi, sources confirmed to The Hindu. Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor, a senior official in the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has arrived in Delhi and is expected to take over as the charge, they said.
U.S. Ambassador Sergio Gor arrives in India
