NEW DELHI: US ambassador-designate Sergio Gor said on Monday his mission in India is to strengthen ties between the “oldest and the largest democracies” and conveyed President Donald Trump’s best wishes to “his friend” Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said that India and the US are discussing a trade deal and the first call between the negotiators will be made on Tuesday.

The trade discussion is a euphemism for Mr Trump as the envoy told the US Senate at his confirmation hearing that the president was “crystal clear” about stopping all oil imports from Russia to India, The Hindu said.

Mr Gor also said that India will be invited to join as a full member of Pax Silica, a new US-led strategic initiative aimed at securing global silicon and high-technology supply chains.

The ambassador’s statement, made to hundreds of US embassy staffers in Delhi and Indian media, was unconventional as Mr Gor has not yet presented his credentials to Presi­dent Droupadi Murmu.

According to diplomatic protocol, ambassadors are expected to make public appearances only after the credentials are presented. Sources said President Murmu will accept the credentials later this week.

Mr Gor said that the “friendship” between Mr Trump and Mr Modi is “real” and the US and India “are bound not just by shared interests, but by a relationship anchored at the highest levels. Real friends can disagree, but always resolve their differences in the end”.

“And while trade is very important for our relationship, we will continue to work closely together on other very important areas, such as security, counter-terrorism, energy, technology, education, and health,” Mr Gor added.

Earlier, he told the US Senate that Mr Trump had made it “crystal clear” that India would have to end all imports of Russian oil, which make up about 35 to 40 per cent of India’s intake.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also said that trade negotiations would be resolved “once” India stops buying the oil, suggesting this was a pre-condition for any deal. Sergio Gor, who hopes to be confirmed soon, added that India and the US are “not that far apart” from a deal on the 50pc tariffs that the US has imposed on India.

“I do think it will get resolved in the next few weeks,” Mr Gor said, also indicating that Mr Trump was committed to travelling to India for the Quad Summit, and has invited Indian commerce and trade officials to Washington next week to resume talks on a free trade agreement.

Mr Lutnick, who has been more sharply critical of India, said that the US president had called India’s purchase of Russian oil as “nonsense”.

“India has to basically open its market, and stop buying Russian oil,” Mr Lutnick told reporters in one of a series of interviews he gave on Friday.

The comments by US officials came days after Mr Trump posted that he expected “no difficulty” in coming to an agreement on trade.

In the past few days, the Financial Times and CNBC TV have reported that Mr Trump told European Union leaders in a call that they must impose “100pc tariffs” on India and China for their purchases of Russian oil, The Hindu said.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2026