Sitting backstage at the UFC 327 event in Miami, Florida in April this year, US President Donald Trump thought of calling a friend – Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor shared this story on Monday, he recalled how he had pointed out to Trump back then that it was 6 am in India, and how that didn’t change the President’s mind about talking to PM Modi.
Recalling the backstage conversation with Trump at the UFC event, Gor said: “He said to me: Let’s call the Prime Minister. I said: It’s 6am in the morning there. He replied: He (Modi) will be up, he’s like me, he doesn’t sleep.”
Gor went to share that since Trump had to take the stage soon after, the call with PM Modi was scheduled for the next day.
‘When you’re friends with somebody…’
The US envoy narrated the incident to point out to the warmth Trump shares with PM Modi. “The louder message of the story is when you’re friends with somebody not everything needs to be scheduled,” Gor said.
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He also said that Trump holds India in the highest regard and considers PM Modi a friend, an equation he may not necessarily share with other world leaders. “There are leaders we schedule things with because he does not consider them at the same level that he considers the prime minister,” the US ambassador to India said.
Sergio Gor made the remarks while delivering an address at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) Leadership Summit. He also said that Trump is quite fond of India and continues to talk about his last visit here. “I look forward to, at some point… having the president visit us back in India,” he noted.
Trump-Modi connection, India-US trade
Sergio Gor mentioned that the connection between Modi and Trump goes back to the President’s first term in office. “His years with the Prime Minister go back to his first term. There’s warm memories of India. And so that’s an incredible benefit,” the US Ambassador shared.
He also said that the US-India trade deal is in its “final steps”, with only the last one per cent of negotiations left to be concluded.
“People ask, Why is this taking so long? We’ve been at this for a year and a half. To put it into perspective, the European trade deal took 20 years. So no matter what, as long as we beat the European deal, I think we’re in good shape. But I’m determined to bring this to a close,” he said.
Also Read: ‘Modi is calm, cool, a total killer. I’m not’: Trump big praise for PM in France
PM Modi, who visited the US in February last year, is most likely to visit the United States in December for the G20 summit. Trump and PM Modi last met in France on the sidelines of the G7 Summit and the camaraderie they share was also on display during their bilateral talks.
