Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Amid reports that billionaire Elon Musk joined the phone call between PM Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump last week, the Indian govt said on Saturday that the conversation was between the leaders only.NYT reported late on Friday that Musk participated in the phone call that Trump made to Modi, calling it an unusual appearance by a private citizen on a call between two heads of state during a wartime crisis.“We have seen the story. The telephone conversation on March 24 was between PM Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump only. As has been stated earlier, it provided the opportunity for exchange of views on the situation in West Asia,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.While the MEA denied that there was anyone else involved, the White House did not confirm or deny the report. “President Trump has a great relationship with PM Modi, and this was a productive conversation,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to a news agency.Quoting two anonymous US officials, the report said it was unclear why Musk was on the call or whether he spoke. “His companies have taken on significant investment from sovereign wealth funds in countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Musk has also long coveted a greater commercial presence in India,” it said.Trump had dialled Modi to discuss the West Asia situation, including the need to secure the Strait of Hormuz. According to an Indian readout, Modi had noted that safe passage of ships through the strait is vital for global peace, stability and economic well-being.This was their first conversation since early Feb and came in the middle of reported efforts by Pakistan to host talks between the US and Iran for ending the ongoing military conflict. US ambassador Sergio Gor had said that president wanted to keep Modi in the loop about developments related to the conflict.
