WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the White House next week, a White House official said, hours after a U.S. military plane departed to return deported migrants to the country.

Trump spoke with Modi on Jan. 27, when he discussed immigration and stressed the importance of India buying more American-made security equipment and fair bilateral trading ties.

India, a strategic partner of the United States in its efforts to counter China, is keen to enhance trade relations with the U.S. and make it easier for its citizens to get skilled worker visas.

It is also keen to avoid tariffs that Trump has threatened in the past, citing India's high tariffs on U.S. products.

The United States is India's largest trading partner and two-way trade between the two countries surpassed $118 billion in 2023/24, with India posting a trade surplus of $32 billion.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)