'India-US not that far apart on a tariff deal': Trump's envoy pick for New Delhi
Sergio Gor made the remarks during his Senate confirmation hearing for becoming the next US ambassador to India.
United States President Donald Trump's pick for the next American ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, said on Thursday that it is Trump administration's priority to get India to stop buying Russian oil. He also, however, said that India and the US are not that “far apart” on a tariff deal.
“We're not that far apart on a deal already on these tariffs… Getting India to stop buying Russian oil is a top priority for this administration,” he said at his Senate confirmation hearing.
"Part of that will include hopeful, a hopeful deal. We are not that far apart right now on a deal. In fact, they're negotiating the nitty-gritty of a deal,” he said.
“We expect more from India than we do sometimes from other nations. I do think it will get resolved over the next few weeks,” news agency PTI quoted Gor.
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Gor also called India a “strategic partner” and said that under President Donald Trump's “strong leadership, I'm committed to advancing America's interest in this important partnership.”
India's “geographic position, economic growth and military capabilities make it a cornerstone for regional stability and a critical part of promoting prosperity and advancing the security interests that our nations share," he said.
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In a bid to convince the US senate for confirming his appointment as the next US ambassador to India, Gor told the senate foreign relations committee that, “If confirmed as ambassador, I will work to deliver on the presidential agenda and advance US interests by increasing our defence cooperation, ensuring fair and beneficial trade, deepening energy security and furthering technology.”
If confirmed, Gor, 38, would the youngest American ambassador to India.
‘Trump, Modi have incredible relationship’
Gor highlighted the friendship shared by President Trump and PM Modi despite the tensions over tariffs between the two nations and said that both the leaders have an “incredible relationship”
“In fact, if you have noticed, when he has gone after other nations, he tends to go after their leaders for putting us in that position, and for the US imposing those tariffs. When the President has been critical of India, he has gone out of his way to compliment PM Modi. They have an incredible relationship,” he said.
Currently, Gor is serving as the director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office. He was picked by President Donald Trump to become the next US ambassador to India in August. However, he is yet to be confirmed by the US senate.
What Marco Rubio said
While introducing Gor to the committee, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said that he has known Gor for a long time while also adding that the US has “one of the top relationships” in the world with India.
Rubio, as he introduced Sergio Gor, said “who is the nominee to India, which is, I would say, one of the top relationships the US has in the world today, in terms of the future, what the world is going to look like.”
He also said that in the 21st Century, the “story is going to be written in the Indo-Pacific. In fact, it's so important that we've actually changed the name of the combatant command of the Indo-Pacific. India is at the core of that," reported PTI.
“And we are in a period of extraordinary transition in that relationship with India. We've got some really important issues coming up that we need to work with them on and work through on that implicate what's happening from Ukraine, but also implicate what's happening in the region."
(With inputs from PTI)
