India and PM have a friend in Oval Office: US envoy's message ahead of Rubio's visit

India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have a friend in the Oval Office, US envoy Sergio Gor told India Today a day before Secretary of State Marco Rubio's maiden visit to the country.

Rubio arrived in Kolkata today, marking the start of his four-day India visit that will also take him to Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. Alongside bilateral engagements with Indian officials, Rubio is scheduled to attend the Quad meeting hosted by India in New Delhi. Discussions during the visit are expected to focus on trade, defence and energy cooperation between the two countries.

The visit is crucial, especially given the volatile situation between Washington and New Delhi regarding tariffs, buying Russian oil, and rising anti-India sentiment in America. Rubio's visit is also scheduled following the historic trade deal between the two sides.

During the global exclusive, Sergio Gor stressed that the message from US President Donald Trump is simple: Washington wants to work even closer with New Delhi.

"The President, as you know, as I've often said, holds the Prime Minister in very high regard. And the message will be clear: the United States and India are natural partners, and that's something we hope to build upon," Gor said.

The US Ambassador said that he spoke with Trump two days before and the President firmly said that he wants, after the meeting, both sides to work together seamlessly. "What he wants to see come out of this trip is our two sides working hand-in-hand and identifying those win-win situations for both of our countries."

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM RUBIO'S VISIT?

Sergio Gor highlighted that it's not typical for a US Secretary to spend four days across different cities, beyond Delhi, during a trip to India. He added that the fact that Rubio is going to be in India for four days says a lot about the significance of diplomatic ties between Washington and New Delhi.

"The significance is a lot. The relationship between our two countries. It's also a Quad meeting. So, we expect some big things to come out over the next few days," Gor told India Today.

He, however, refrained from making prior announcements, saying that as partners of the Quad, there will be some deliverables that all four sides are "very excited about".

Gor further pointed out how Rubio and India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have been in touch "on a very regular basis" and even met multiple times – both in the US and on the sidelines of other events.

"So this is a continuation of that. But we do expect to see some results of that. Talk is good, but action is even better. Since I arrived in India, we have seen that on a monthly basis. In my first month, we worked on closing the trade deal, which is now in the final stages of getting signed. For all intents and purposes, the trade deal is done. The legal language is what is being worked out. The next month, India was added to PAX Silica, one of the first 10 nations in the world that was added. The reason India was added is that it's a trusted partner to us. And so we've continued to build upon that," the US envoy said during the interview.

The US-led Pax Silica initiative is aimed at obtaining AI and semiconductor supply chains, and India joined it formally in February.

'EXPERIENCE OF AN INCREDIBLE CULTURE'

Sergio Gor focused on the fact that Rubio, unlike many global leaders, will not merely spend a few hours in Delhi for meetings and depart. He said that while bilateral and Quad meetings are important and worth a trip, it's also important that the US Secretary of State gets the "full picture" by "getting out of Delhi".

"Any one of those things that you mentioned would be worth the trip, a Quad meeting, the bilateral meetings, but also the fact that he's able to experience the incredible culture and history and, frankly, the warmth of the people. Delhi's great, but it's also good that he's getting out of Delhi. Too many times, visitors come to India for a few hours. They have a meeting in Delhi, and they depart. To me, that's not the full picture," the US envoy said.

'AMERICA FIRST IS NOT AMERICA ALONE'

America first has become synonymous with Trump's governance, but Gor highlighted that it doesn't mean "America alone"

"America first is not America alone. And so we do have identified partners that we do trust. There's a reason the Quad is only four people. Two of them are some of our biggest allies – Japan and Australia. And so, to have India in that mix, it's not by coincidence. I do think there's a lot that we can build upon. India and the Prime Minister have a friend in the Oval Office. It comes down to that. It is my job to bring those opportunities and identify those win-win situations, both for America and things that the Indian side would also appreciate," Sergio Gor told India Today.