India can count on me 100%, US President Trump said PM Narendra Modi a “Great” Friend

The event at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi was graced by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador Sergio Gor.

The highlight of the event was a performance by A R Rahman.

“I just want to say hello to everybody. I love the Prime Minister, (Narendra) Modi is great. He is my friend, and I just want to say a very good evening to everybody,” Trump said in a phone conversation with Gor.

“I am a big, big fan of Prime Minister Modi,” he said.

The US ambassador held his phone to a microphone for the audience to hear Trump’s remarks.

“We’ve never been closer to India, and India can count on me 100 per cent and our country,” the US president said. “If they ever need help, they know where to call – they call right here.”

Trump also claimed that the US economy was doing well.

“We’re doing well; we’re setting records. We’ve a record economy, a record stock market,” he said.

In his remarks, Trump also described Rubio as the “greatest secretary of state in the history of the US” and concluded by saying: “Say hello to Prime Minister Modi and let him know I’m a big fan.”

In his brief address, Rubio described India as a key partner of the US.

Jaishankar said the US declaration of independence articulated ideas that shaped the modern world such as individual liberty, rule of law, free speech and accountable governance, and their resonance in India was natural given the country’s history as a pluralistic society with a consultative ethos.

The experiences of the US independence movement were taken into account by the makers of India’s Constitution and the affinities between the two sides have grown with deeper economic and technology ties, Jaishankar said.