NEW DELHI: US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome tickled a raw nerve in India after he visited Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK’s) Gilgit Baltistan area a few days back. India considers all of Kashmir including PoK as a part of India.
However, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti compared Ambassador Blome’s visit to Gilgit Baltistan to US officials visiting Srinagar for a G20 meeting.
"Part of our delegation went to Jammu and Kashmir for G20. It is an issue for India and Pakistan to decide," said Ambassador Garcetti.
Ambassador Garcetti, who is Jewish, also said that it was a mistake for the Canadian government to give a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran.
He declined to comment on intelligence sharing between the US and Canada over the slain Khalistani extremist HS Nijjar in British Colombia on June 5th.
"Not my place to speak on another country," said Ambassador Garcetti.
Meanwhile, speaking at the 20th Indo US Economic Summit, organised by the Indo American Chamber of Commerce, Ambassador Garcetti lauded India’s G20 Summit.
"India has demonstrated its global leadership through the 'most successful' G-20 in the history of the organisation," he said.
Talking about the India-US partnership, Ambassador Garcetti said that there may be some challenges between India and the US, which is common not just amongst nations, but everywhere including families, but the ties between the two have not been stronger.
"The goal that we should be setting for each other is how can we be more ambitious. Not just settle for another deal, not just settle for as we have done in the last few months bringing down the retaliatory tariffs and trade disputes between our countries. That's not good enough. I think we need to close our eyes and dream of what this relationship can be like even more than we would imagine today. How can we create a frictionless relationship?" Ambassador Garcetti said.
Noting that there is a need to do away with even the smallest of friction between the two countries in terms of trade, he called for a reduction of tariffs and the creation of a more predictable regulatory environment.
He also pitched for a robust agriculture trade between India and the U.S.
"We want India to be one of our top three markets in the world. Here, the productivity in dairy and other areas has levelled off. In addition, there is need to share technology and co-develop in sectors like defence, in which India and the U.S. already have strong ties," he added.