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Ex-Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla said he witnessed the “special partnership” between PM Modi and Trump during meetings in first term and India will find ways to conclude FTA.
Trump tariffs on India: Harsh Shringla hopeful of India-US FTA (PTI File Image)
Former Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla has expressed hope that India will successfully conclude a mutually beneficial free trade agreement with the United States.
Shringla, now a Rajya Sabha MP, cited a “special partnership” between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump that he witnessed in the meetings when he was New Delhi’s envoy in Washington as a basis for his argument.
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Referring to grand events such as Howdy Modi and Namaste Trump, organised in Texas and Ahmedabad respectively, the former Foreign Secretary said that the two leaders enjoy a close connection that has not developed in a day and goes back in time to when Trump was in his first term.
“One thing that I know is that President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Modi enjoy a very close and special partnership. It’s been evident in many of the meetings that I have been present in myself… That connection doesn’t come from today. It comes from President Trump’s first term in office when you had events like Howdy Modi and Namaste Trump… I’m hopeful that we will find ways to conclude a satisfactory and mutually beneficial free trade agreement with the United States early rather than late. That would certainly take us to the next step of the visit of President Trump to India,” Shringla said in Virginia.
Amid a strained relationship with the US, he said that India has the “most comprehensive” ties with America, and the strength of the relationship will see through “any ups and downs”.
“I believe in the relationship. We have the most comprehensive, multifaceted relationship with the United States, the one that we have more than any other country. The strength of that relationship is the values and principles that we share, which will see us through any ups and downs in the relationship. We will undoubtedly see this through as well,” he said.
Talking about Trump’s 50% tariffs on India that came into effect today, he said that New Delhi is working to “minimise” the impact of the levies, as he suggested exploring alternate markets for its products such as the UK, Australia and UAE.
“We will be at the receiving end of 50% customs duties for goods exported into the United States from India. We are working on minimising the impact. One way is to find alternative markets. We have Free Trade Agreements with Australia, the UAE, and the UK, we are close to concluding a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union. This means that we can access different markets and we would have the opportunity to divert some of our exports in that direction.” Shringla said.
(With ANI inputs)
About the Author
Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes…Read More
Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes… Read More
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