Till then he had spoken to just four world leaders--of Canada, Mexico, Israel and Egypt. This call came four days after Trump's inauguration.
It is, therefore, a clear indicator of what can be expected--continuity, and even enhancement in India-US ties during Donald Trump's presidency.
Will it herald an India tilt?
It may if we factor in the fact that during his campaign, Trump had singled out India for a special relationship while speaking at a function hosted by the Republican Hindu Coalition for the Kashmiri Pandit terror victims and the Bangladeshi Hindu victims in Edison, New Jersey, on Oct 15.
It was a receptive audience. He was lustily cheered as he praised Modi as a very energetic leader. And added as icing on the cake: "We are going to have a phenomenal future together (with India). Under a Trump Administration, we are going to become even better friends, in fact I would take the term better out and we would be best friends."
The White House read-out on the Trump-Modi conversation leaves no room whatsoever where Delhi figures in the new calculus.
The US considers India "a true friend and partner in addressing challenges around the world," said the read-out, adding that the two leaders also discussed security in the region of South and Central Asia.
It sent out alarm bells to Islamabad-Rawalpindi combine with the observation: "President Trump and Prime Minister Modi resolved that the U.S. and India stand shoulder to shoulder in the global fight against terrorism".
For Pakistan diplomacy this is the second blow after its version of the read-out of Nawaz Sharif's call to President-elect Trump was blown to pieces by Washington.
And while Pakistan foreign office was struggling to establish contact with the incoming American dispensation, India had engaged with the new team after Modi made his congratulatory call.
The first was a meeting between Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar and then vice president-elect Mike Pence, and the second on December 19 when Ajit Doval, India's national security adviser, met Trump's NSA Michael Flynn.
Expectedly, Pakistan has since doubled up its diplomatic drive first to save ties with the US and second to make friends in the new US administration. Will the effort succeed? The jury is out.
One thing is clear though.
International diplomacy is not a zero-sum game. Nonetheless the announcement that Pakistan will be among the countries whose citizens will have to go through an "extreme vetting" process before entering the United States sends a message that cannot be glossed over.
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