United States President Donald Trump will visit India in early 2027, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor has confirmed, with preparations for the visit already underway as New Delhi and Washington move to conclude a long-pending bilateral trade agreement and deepen cooperation in energy, defence and technology.
The visit will be Trump's first to India since bilateral ties came under strain following the US decision to impose tariffs of more than 50 per cent on Indian imports.
In an interview with news agency IANS, Gor said he was travelling to India to finalise preparations for the presidential visit, underscoring the importance Washington attaches to the relationship with New Delhi.
He said the partnership continued to be anchored by the personal rapport between Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also closely involved in advancing the bilateral agenda.
The announcement comes weeks after Trump and Modi held what Gor described as a "warm and wide-ranging" meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France. According to the ambassador, the leaders met for more than an hour and discussed trade, defence and other aspects of the bilateral relationship, with some outcomes expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Gor said negotiations on the proposed India-US trade agreement had entered the final stage, with both sides now working on the precise wording of the pact.
He said he had met Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and other senior Indian officials in New Delhi just 48 hours before speaking to IANS, describing the discussions as productive.
According to Gor, only a handful of issues remain unresolved and the focus has now shifted to finalising the language of the agreement. He expressed confidence that the deal would be concluded within the next few weeks or months.
Defending the pace of negotiations, Gor noted that the proposed India-US agreement had been under discussion for about a year and a half, contrasting it with the European Union's trade negotiations, which he said had remained unresolved for two decades.
Without divulging details of the final agreement, he said both countries would be satisfied with the outcome, adding that successful trade deals are possible when common ground is identified and mutual interests are addressed.
On energy cooperation, Gor outlined a potential arrangement involving the United States, India and Venezuela, with India expected to play a key role because of its ability to refine Venezuela's heavy crude oil.
He said Washington was working closely with New Delhi to increase supplies and would facilitate such an arrangement.
The ambassador also indicated that rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and broader concerns over global energy security had increased the urgency of diversifying supply chains, making India's refining capacity strategically significant for the United States.
(With inputs from IANS)