NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump made a surprise audio call during the US Embassy’s 250th Independence Day celebrations in Delhi telling “he loves PM Modi” and calling him “great”“I just want to say hello to everybody. I love the Prime Minister. Modi is great. He’s my friend,” the US President can be heard saying.Further praising India, he added, ” We’ve never been closer to India, and India can count on me 100% and our country. If they ever need help, they know who they call. They call right here. We’re doing well. We’re setting records. We have a record economy, a record stock market, and anything India wants again. And I’m a big, big fan of Prime Minister Modi.”The event in Delhi was addressed by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor.Speaking at the event, Gor hailed the close personal relationship between Trump and PM 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…” Gor said.He also described the India-US partnership as the foundation of “a new era” and highlighted recent developments in bilateral cooperation. “This bond is the foundation of a new era. We are actively delivering on the promise of our cooperation and building a future of tangible achievements,” Gor said.Gor said that since arriving in New Delhi five months ago, the two countries had announced an interim trade deal which he hoped “in the next few weeks, will get signed.” He also said India had “been invited, accepted and joined Pax Silica,” while commercial diplomacy between the two nations was at a “record high level.”“I am specifically proud that every embassy competes to bring investment into the United States. And our embassy in India came in number one in the world with $20.5 billion of new investments into the United States,” Gor further said, adding, “Tonight is not only about celebrating history. It is about looking ahead to a new era of shared success driven by the extraordinary momentum in the US-India partnership.”
