US President Donald Trump on Sunday hailed India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reaffirming strong bilateral ties between New Delhi and Washington.
Trump was speaking virtually at an event hosted at the US Embassy in Delhi to mark the 250th US Independence Day celebrations. The event was attended by US Ambassador Sergio Gor, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
“I love India. You (Gor) have to make a good speech as a representative of our country. I just want to say hello to everybody. I love the prime minister. PM Modi is great; he is my friend,” Trump said.
Expressing his strong admiration for Modi, Trump said that India could count on the US “100 per cent”.
“Anything India wants, they get. I am a big, big fan of Prime Minister Modi,” he said.
Trump’s remarks come amid Rubio’s four-day visit to India, during which he will be attending the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in the national capital on May 26. Jaishankar will chair the high-level congregation, bringing together India, the United States, Australia, and Japan.
Trump praised Rubio, terming him as the greatest Secretary of State in the history of the United States.
The event also featured a performance by Oscar-winning composer A. R. Rahman, with his iconic song Jai Ho emerging as one of the highlights of the evening.
Addressing the gathering, Ambassador Gor said India-US relations were entering a “new era of shared success” and highlighted the personal rapport between Trump and 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,” he said.
Gor further noted that the US Embassy in New Delhi had secured USD 20.5 billion in new investments into the United States and expressed hope that an interim India-US trade deal would be signed in the coming weeks.
‘Anything India wants, they get. I’m big fan of PM Modi’: Trump’s message amid Marco Rubio’s visit
