After recent tensions over Calistan Separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun assassination deal, Biden administration sought to strike a positive note with India as outgoing ambassador Eric Garcetti On Thursday he welcomed the conclusion of the Indian investigation into the murder-for-hire case, saying the investigation achieved two of the things the United States sought: accountability and systemic reforms.
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Garcetti told TOI in an interview that while the probe was not an end in itself and the US would wait for further steps, the result helped prove wrong skeptics who believed there was no way India and the US could overcome this situation. issue and that what India was doing was mere “window dressing”.
The ambassador admitted that Trump’s tariff threat could undermine the relationship’s positive agenda, but expressed confidence that the relationship would continue to grow, saying he viewed Trump’s tariff approach as an invitation to dialogue on the issue, and not as a threat to start a trade agreement. war.
“My assessment is that (Pannun probe) a really positive first step. We welcome you. It delivered what the private interactions I had with Indian officials promised. We said changes should be made to ensure this does not happen again and that people should be held accountable. But that is not destiny. The report would be the first to say so. He says he is recommending prosecution. And just like in our system, facts come to light and things happen. But this is substantive. “This moves the ball forward and we hope to take action in the future,” Garcetti said, when asked about the outcome of the investigation suggesting the plot may have been a ‘lone wolf’ operation.
On Canada’s ongoing investigation into similar cases and alleged Indian involvement, which it has linked to top brass including the Indian Home Minister, Garcetti said he had no knowledge of it. “I believe that our two countries have independent criminal justice systems, which are outside our intelligence systems and have to investigate facts that can be sustained in a court of law. I don’t want to speak for Canada. I know that is the case in the United States. My friends in Canada would say they have a similar system. I think we often see connections that don’t exist,” the ambassador said.
Garcetti said the fact that Trump has close ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the fact that he has appointed people considered pro-India as NSA and secretary of state bodes well for ties. He described Biden as the most pro-India president in US history and Modi as the most pro-US prime minister. “And when President Biden said this is the most important country to me when he asked me to take this position… I think he showed it. Things like ICET, imagine IMEEC… or the work we are doing in Fiji, or Southeast Asia or Africa are not only additive but also multiplicative. “That legacy will be an incredible foundation for the Trump administration to continue to build on, but it will also be the brightest chapter,” he said.
The trade war helps no one, Garcetti said when asked about Trump’s threat to impose higher tariffs on India and other countries. “If we want to surpass our main competitors… we want to have a China plus one strategy, it is not enough to have good intentions. We have to reduce tariffs even further. We have to create a corridor of trust between our technologies. “From what I heard from the president-elect, it is an invitation to come to the table, not a threat to start a trade war,” he said.
On the US focus on human rights, minorities and freedom of expression, Garcetti said that both India and the US needed to protect against misinformation and ensure a sense of belonging for all, but added that the US was not seeking to teach or preach. “That will be determined by the Indians. India says we won’t comment on you and please don’t comment on us. America says we are going to comment on you, please comment on us. We have a slight difference there. There have been moments when I have been impressed by the vitality of Indian democracy. There are fair and free elections that are an example for others,” he said.
When asked about some of the most difficult issues he faced during his tenure, including India’s ties with Russia and the murder-for-hire case, Garcetti said there was nothing the two sides could not overcome even though There were conversations that were not easy. “Sometimes we have to disagree on things. But we resolved our trade disputes. We are wading through criminal cases, both what happened to Indian diplomats in San Francisco and what happened to American citizens, like in the Pannun case. Democracies are complex and it is difficult to manage diverse populations, but this reminds me of the United States a few decades ago. “If we put our minds together, there is nothing we can’t do,” he said.