Ambassador Sergio Gore spoke on India-US relations, also spoke on trade deal

In an interview given to a private channel, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gore talked about the closeness of bilateral relations between the two countries and the trade agreement.

He also talked about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's relationship with US President Donald Trump and said that 'others are jealous of the growing relations between India and America.'

Sergio Gore claimed that PM Modi will be at the top among the leaders whom President Trump would like to meet during the upcoming G20 summit.

Florida G20 summit is going to be held in December in which PM Modi is also expected to attend.

It is noteworthy that talks regarding bilateral trade agreement have been going on between India and America for several months but no result has come so far.

However, Sergio Gore said he hoped the agreement would be finalized 'in the next few months'.

Last Friday, India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had said that India will make the final announcement of a bilateral trade agreement with the US only when the US agrees to give preferential tariff terms compared to India's competing countries.

"As soon as the US is able to give us preferential rates compared to our competitors, we will finalize the bilateral trade agreement and announce its final details," Minister Piyush Goyal said at an event.

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He said that free trade agreements have already been implemented with five economies and soon this number will reach nine.

What did Sergio Gore say about PM Modi?

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US Ambassador Sergio Gore mentioned President Trump's closeness with Indian PM Narendra Modi in an interview with private channel India Today.

He said, "If you ask the President, '35 people are coming to your place. Whom do you want to meet?', the Prime Minister will be at the top of that list. Because the President considers the PM as his friend, I am hopeful that this visit will not be limited to just a multilateral meeting."

He also hinted at the possibility of Trump visiting India next year, saying, "Whenever I talk to him, he fondly remembers his wonderful visit here, the wonderful people he met and of course his dear friend the Prime Minister."

Sergio Gore said, "The President is very clear that India will continue to trust America as long as my friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi is there."

He said, "The US Embassy in India has helped secure $24 billion of new investments in the US, while American companies are expanding their business in India. Be it Microsoft or Google, data centres, AI centers or pharmaceutical companies, a lot is happening between the two countries."

He said, "All this is happening because of trust and stability. We want a stable India and want to work with it. A lot of credit for this goes to your Prime Minister. He has given India a stability which is not there in the rest of the world. This is a very important achievement in a wonderful democracy. Your Prime Minister has been here (in power) for 12 years."

Why is the India-US trade agreement getting delayed?

Although Sergio Gore expressed hope for the early completion of the bilateral trade agreement between India and America, but also gave clarification for the delay.

"People ask me, it's been a year, but the EU has been negotiating for more than 20 years and it still isn't done. We're way ahead of many other partners," Gore said.

Describing India as a reliable partner, he said, "Our defense relations are not just about sales. It is also about trust. America does not sell military equipment to every country."

He also mentioned the ongoing talks on the supply of Javelin missiles and Apache helicopters and other defense equipment.

He said that India conducts more military exercises with America than any other country.

Controversy over Gore's earlier statements

There has been controversy in India regarding many of Sergio Gore's earlier statements.

The most recent controversy occurred when Sergio Gore made a mocking comment about India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal at an event.

He had said, "Many of you have asked me about different things related to the US Embassy. If you cannot contact me, then contact Piyush and he will arrange it."

There was a lot of uproar over this and Congress leader Pawan Kheda wrote on Twitter, "Has the condition of the Indian economy become so bad that even Union Minister Piyush Goyal has to do a side-job as the secretary of the US Ambassador? From Vishwaguru to visa-office receptionist, what a degradation."

Sergio Gore had also said that two ministers in the Delhi government are very close to him, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Piyush Goyal.

Only last month, Sergio Gore, while referring to a meeting between President Trump and PM Modi in France, had claimed that the Indian Foreign Ministry had appealed not to ask questions in the press conference.

PM Modi and US President Trump met at the G-7 summit held in Avion, France in June, where journalists asked Donald Trump many questions.

PM Modi was also sitting right next to him but he was silent during this entire question-answer session and the entire conversation took place between the journalists and Trump.

Earlier on August 19, Sergio Gore had visited Jammu and Kashmir and described it as 'an important part of India'.

After this, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry summoned the US Chargé d'Affaires in Islamabad and 'strongly condemned the decision to declare Jammu and Kashmir as a part of India'.

Sergio Gore's comments regarding Indian media also gave rise to a lot of reactions on social media in India.

In his remarks, the US Ambassador said, "I love coming back home and watching Indian TV news shows. As it gets later, the shows get more and more strange. At 6 pm, there are 8 people arguing on the show. At 10 pm, there are 12 people all speaking at once."