New Delhi: Despite much anticipation, no announcement of a trade deal between India and United States was made on Tuesday at the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump – even though both countries claim to have “narrowed” their differences.He said this at a short interaction with the media before the start of his formal delegation-level talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. This was their second meeting in three days. Trump had flown into Houston on Sunday to attend the ‘Howdy Modi’ rally that was organised by the Indian-American community.The Wire had reported on September 22 about the contours of the possible trade deal, which the US government is keen to sign and showcase as an achievement for ‘dealmaker’ President Trump ahead of 2020 re-election campaign.Also Read: Will ‘Howdy Modi’ See India and US Say Goodbye to Trade Tumbleweeds?As mentioned in the report, India had no plans to compromise on lifting duties and restrictions on electronic devices, medical devices or dairy products, which were linked to the issue of withdrawal of GSP benefits on Indian imports to the US.With a tight schedule of talks that began just two weeks ago, the idea was that both sides would first announce a relatively small deal to coincide with Modi’s US visit.In answer to a question on the state of trade negotiations, Trump said, “We are doing very well”.He said that US trade representative Bob Lighthizer had been negotiating with his Indian counterpart in recent days. “Very soon we will have a trade deal. We will have a larger deal down the road. But we will have the trade deal soon”.Indian foreign secretary optimisticLater, Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said he was “optimistic” about the trade agreement “in the near future”. He noted that commerce minister Piyush Goyal had specifically flown in from India over the weekend to hold talks. Goyal was also present at the India-US delegation-level talks.Gokhale noted that there was “significant progress” and the differences had been “narrowed. He, however, refused to give a timeline for a possible announcement of a trade deal. “These are issues that are complex. These are issues involving domestic industry on both sides. It involves jobs on both sides. Reconciling the gives and takes requires a certain amount of discussion ad balance, but we are confident that we will make progress in the future.”He also said that both Piyush Goyal and Lighthigzer told the leaders during the talks that they believed that the other person was “sincere”.“We have laid out our requirement and so has the US side. It is now the matter of negotiating on individual issues to ensure that at the end of the day, our requirement of access to the US markets for Indian companies is secure… and address US concern over the trade deficit,” said Gokhale.The Indian foreign secretary also noted that both trade and terrorism got equal time for discussion during the relatively short 30-minute meeting.In his public remarks, Trump said that he had a “very good” and “long” meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday. He felt that the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers, “these two great gentlemen”, will be able to “get together and work something [out]”.He also called for India to hold discussions with Pakistan. “I really believe that Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Khan will get along when they get to know each other. And I think a lot of good things will come from that meeting.”India has, so far, refused to talk with Pakistan, unless the latter pulls the plug on terror facilities operating from its soil.With Khan sitting next to him, Trump had on Monday expressed his surprise about the “very aggressive statement” from Modi on Pakistan and Kashmir at the Houston event.Gokhale said that Modi explained at some length India’s challenge on terrorism, especially in Jammu and Kashmir. He also pointed out that India has made several overtures to Pakistan, including calling Pakistan PM to swearing-in ceremony in 2015 and his surprise trip to Lahore in December 2015. The Indian foreign secretary stated that Modi told Trump that India was not shying away from talks with Pakistan, but wanted Islamabad to take “some concrete steps”. “We are not seeing Pakistan taking those concrete steps”.Foreign secretaryVijay Keshav Gokhale. Credit: PTITrump on PakistanEarlier during the media interaction, Trump echoed his remarks to the media on Monday’s meeting with Khan. The US president again demurred when he was asked a question about Islamabad as an “epicentre of terrorism” being a threat to democracies. “You know, you mentioned Pakistan, but Iran would have to be at the top of the list. Because if you look at terrorist states, that’s been the number one for a long time,” he replied.He also refused to answer a query on his views on Imran Khan claiming that “Pakistani ISI had trained Al-Qaeda”. Trump said that he had not heard that statement and added that “the Prime Minister [Modi] will take care of it”.Also Read: A Day After Praising Modi At Houston, Trump Calls His Pakistan Stance ‘Very Aggressive’In his characteristic style, Trump was again gushing with compliments. Remarking on the ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston, he pointed to Modi, “He is like Elvis.” He also stated that Modi should be called “father of India” as the Indian prime minister reportedly ended “dissension” and “fighting” between various groups.In his remarks, Modi thanked Trump for coming to Houston and called him a true friend of India. He reiterated that India has made a major investment in the gas sector through Petronet LNG worth $2.5 billion.