Srilanka, Feb. 2 -- Given the global trepidation over the ascendance of Donald Trump to the Presidency of the United States, his first significant interaction with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the week gave hope of a stable and cooperative India-US relationship in the next few years.

Trump was business-like, spelling out his concerns precisely. A terse statement released by the White House said that Trump emphasised the importance of India "increasing its procurement of American-made security equipment and moving towards a fair bilateral trading relationship." But Trump personally softened the impact when he told the media that Modi will visit Washington in February.

That laid to rest speculation that Indo-US ties have...