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United States President Donald Trump called himself Number 1 on Facebook and Prime Minister Narendra Modi Number 2. Trump was speaking to CNBC in Davos where the World Economic Forum is underway. He also said Washington's relationship with India has never been better.
"I'm No.1 on Facebook, you know who's no.2? Modi from India," Trump said in the interview. The statement comes just a day after Trump met Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort.
During his meeting with Khan, Trump had said US is watching the developments between India and Pakistan over Kashmir "very closely" and repeated his offer to "help" resolve the longstanding dispute between the two neighbours.
Trump told Khan, whom he referred to as "my friend", that he would speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the ongoing Kashmir issue. The US president is expected to visit India in the coming weeks, marking his first visit after taking up his post in the White House.
"What's going on between Pakistan and India … if we can help, we certainly will be willing to. We have been watching it very closely and it's an honour to be here with my friend," Trump said.
"The Pakistan-India conflict is a very big issue for us in Pakistan and we expect the US to always play its part in deescalating the tensions, because no other country can," Khan said.
President Trump has repeatedly offered to mediate following India's August 5 decision to revoke the special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state into two Union Territories, evoking strong reactions from Pakistan which has been trying to internationalise the issue.
New Delhi has defended its move, saying Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and the issue was strictly internal to the country, and the special status provisions only gave rise to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
