By Sudhi Ranjan Sen
India remains a trusted partner to the US, with closer trade and business ties a top priority in the relationship, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said.
Gor also said the US doesn’t expect countries such as India to stop buying Russian oil immediately despite a new US sanctions law, but sees sanctions as a lever to help end the war in Ukraine.
“The goal is not to punish anyone,” but to “bring an end to this war,” Gor said Thursday at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi.
The comments come ahead of a visit by President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio, to India next week. The trip will focus on deepening energy cooperation and economic ties.
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US-India ties have faced recurrent strain over Trump’s tariff policy and his government’s closer ties with New Delhi’s archrival Pakistan. The US and India had previously spent years cultivating closer links.
Last week, India’s government criticised Vice President JD Vance for “deeply offensive” remarks in which he referred to foreign recruits at US software firms, many of whom are Indians, as “indentured servants.”
Gor rejected that US-India ties were strained, saying Rubio’s visit signals the importance of India to the US. The visit will mark Rubio’s second trip to India this year, and Gor said additional visits by other cabinet members are slated for the coming months.
India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal this week described ties with the US as “very good.” On Tuesday, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said at the Bloomberg event that gradual progress was being made on a trade deal, saying negotiations were “heading towards a landing point.”
Gor said Trump recognises that countries dependent on Russian energy will need time to adjust if new sanctions are imposed. “I don’t think he expects anyone to overnight turn off their lights,” Gor said.