'India Is in a Tough Neighbourhood': US Envoy Highlights Regional Security Challenges

Washington: Negotiations regarding the proposed trade agreement between India and America have reached the final stages. Meanwhile, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor made important comments on the strategic position of India and the relations between the two countries. He said that India is located in a region of the world where there are many challenging neighbouring countries, but despite this, the partnership between India and America is continuously strengthening.

What did the American ambassador say about India's neighbours?

At the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum Leadership Summit, Sergio Gor said that India is in an area where many neighbouring countries keep creating challenging situations. Although he did not name any country, he said that despite regional challenges, cooperation between India and America is continuously increasing.

According to him, both the countries have huge opportunities to work together in areas like artificial intelligence, technology, investment and innovation. He is confident that this partnership will become stronger in the coming years.

How far has the India-US trade agreement progressed?

Gor said that talks on trade agreement between India and America have been going on for about 18 months and now it has reached the final stage. He said that most of the agreement has been finalised and now only some important issues remain to be agreed upon. According to him, only about the last one percent of the negotiations remain.

Did he mention the friendship between Modi and Trump?

The US Ambassador also appreciated the personal relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. He said that the good coordination between the two leaders is giving a new direction to India-US relations. Gor also said that President Trump still considers his visit to India memorable and is keen to visit India again in the future.

He also reiterated that both countries have targeted reaching a bilateral trade of 500 billion dollars in the coming years, which can take the economic partnership to new heights.