US President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed confidence on a “good” trade deal with India and called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “fantastic leader" and a "great friend".

Trump made the remark on the sidelines of his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“I have a great respect for your prime minister (Modi). He is a fantastic man and a friend of mine. We are gonna have a good deal,” Donald Trump said in response to a question on the India-US trade deal by a Moneycontrol journalist.

It's been nearly five months since the tariffs on Indian exports to the US hit a massive 50% — half of which was labelled a “penalty” by Trump over India's purchase of Russian oil — and there's continued uncertainty about when a trade deal may be struck, if at all.

Trade negotiations between officials of the two countries have been underway since before the tariffs took effect, with formal talks beginning in March-April last year after a February greenlight for talks. Statements made by Trump and some key officials in his administration over the past few days have further deepened the mystery.

One of Trump's key aides, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, claimed that a potential trade deal between India and the US fell through because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi “not calling” the US President. Another aide recently claimed that Trump has greenlit a bill that could hike tariffs on India to 500%. These looked like ominous signs of how Trump sees the future of US-India ties, despite proclaiming friendship with PM Modi.

India was quick to reject Lutnick's claims. Hope re-emerged after the new US ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, recently said the US considers India an important partner and that trade talks remain underway.

Trump dropped a big hint earlier this month that his administration could further increase tariffs on India. During a media interaction aboard Air Force One, Trump called PM Modi “a good guy”.

“India wanted to make me happy. Modi is a very good guy, and he knew I was not happy. And it was important to make me happy. We can raise tariffs on them very quickly,” Trump said.

Donald Trump on Wednesday lauded the United States' economic performance, saying the country's economic boom benefits the entire world, while noting that global economic conditions depend on the United States.

Addressing the 56th Annual Summit of the World Economic Forum in Davos, he described the US as the "economic engine on the planet" and highlighted the achievements of his first year back at the White House.

"I come to this year's WEF with truly phenomenal news from America. Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of my inauguration, and after 12 months back in the White House, the economy is booming, growth is exploding, productivity is surging, investment is soaring, incomes are rising, inflation is being defeated, the previously open and dangerous border is now closed and virtually impenetrable, and the United States is amidst the fastest and most dramatic economic turnaround in the country's history," the US President said.