NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump made a surprise audio call during the US Embassy’s 250th Independence Day celebrations in Delhi telling “he loves PM Modi” and calling him “great”“I just want to say hello to everybody. I love the Prime Minister. Modi is great. He’s my friend,” the US President can be heard saying.Further praising India, he added, ” We’ve never been closer to India, and India can count on me 100% and our country. If they ever need help, they know who they call. They call right here. We’re doing well. We’re setting records. We have a record economy, a record stock market, and anything India wants again. And I’m a big, big fan of Prime Minister Modi.”The event in Delhi was addressed by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor.Speaking at the event, Gor hailed the close personal relationship between Trump and PM Modi. “Every time the President (Trump) and I speak, one of the first questions the President will ask is, how is my friend, the Prime Minister (Modi), doing? And that is something that is important to convey because this relationship is not new…” Gor said.He also described the India-US partnership as the foundation of “a new era” and highlighted recent developments in bilateral cooperation. “This bond is the foundation of a new era. We are actively delivering on the promise of our cooperation and building a future of tangible achievements,” Gor said.Gor said that since arriving in New Delhi five months ago, the two countries had announced an interim trade deal which he hoped “in the next few weeks, will get signed.” He also said India had “been invited, accepted and joined Pax Silica,” while commercial diplomacy between the two nations was at a “record high level.”“I am specifically proud that every embassy competes to bring investment into the United States. And our embassy in India came in number one in the world with $20.5 billion of new investments into the United States,” Gor further said, adding, “Tonight is not only about celebrating history. It is about looking ahead to a new era of shared success driven by the extraordinary momentum in the US-India partnership.”
Rubio’s visit to India
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on a four-day visit to India amid ongoing negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement between the two countries. During the visit, Rubio said India had committed to purchasing $500 billion worth of US goods over the next five years, including energy, technology and agricultural products.Addressing a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar earlier in the day, Rubio said India and the US were “on the verge” of a trade agreement and had made “tremendous progress” in discussions aimed at rebalancing trade ties. He stressed that the Trump administration’s push on trade was part of a wider global review of US trade relationships and not specifically targeted at India.Rubio also praised US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor and American diplomats for strengthening bilateral ties and advancing commercial diplomacy.Rubio was also asked about racist remarks targeting Indian Americans online and in the United States. Responding to the question, he said such comments would be taken seriously but maintained that the US remained an inclusive country. “Every country in the world has stupid people… there are stupid people in the United States who make dumb comments all the time,” Rubio said, while adding that America had been enriched by immigrants from across the world. He also referred to his own family background, noting that his parents had migrated to the US from Cuba in 1956.Read more: Key takeaways from Rubio-Jaishankar joint press conference