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Nine days after deadly flash floods struck Nepal, two workers trapped inside a hydropower project tunnel were rescued alive on Friday.
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00:00Hello everyone, this is NewsTrack with me, Maria Shaquille.
00:02The India-U.S. relationship has seen its share of ups and downs.
00:07But the Trump administration's ambassador to India, Sergio Gaur,
00:10has now delivered a strong message on just how important New Delhi remains to Washington.
00:16In an exclusive interview, Gaur says Prime Minister Narendra Modi provides the stability
00:22that makes India a crucial partner for the United States.
00:25He also reveals that three U.S. governors will visit India before the end of the year,
00:31while Washington and New Delhi continue to deepen cooperation across sectors.
00:36So how close is the trade deal?
00:38And just how central is India to America's strategic calculations?
00:44U.S. Ambassador Sergio Gaur joins us now for an exclusive conversation.
00:48Take a look.
00:56Hello and welcome to a very special broadcast and a super exclusive interview
01:01with the U.S. Ambassador to India, Ambassador Sergio Gaur,
01:06who many in D.C. and in India believe is single-handedly driving this relationship
01:12in the right direction.
01:13Ambassador, thank you so much for making time for us from your busy schedule.
01:17Great to be with you, Rohit, and with all the viewers of India today.
01:20And that's very kind of you to say, but remember, this relationship is driven
01:24by President Trump and the care that he has for India.
01:30Ambassador, you know, I have so many questions for you.
01:32Let's first dive into the Quad Sherpa meeting that took place in New Delhi yesterday.
01:38We did see the readout, you know, about the next goals and next objectives of this meeting.
01:43What can you tell us about the Quad Sherpa meeting and, you know, what can we expect
01:48from the next Quad meeting?
01:50And then obviously the big one, which is going to be the Quad Leaders Summit sometime in the future.
01:56Absolutely.
01:57Look, it was vitally important for everybody to get together here.
02:00Foreign Secretary Misery hosted all four parts of the Quad.
02:04And so our colleagues from Japan and also Australia flew in to New Delhi for this very important meeting.
02:11The Quad is very important to all of us.
02:13The Quad, what does the Quad represent?
02:15It is a group of partners that trust each other.
02:17So for the United States, it's very close allies, including Japan and Australia and, of course, India.
02:24And so the meeting was essential.
02:27This is ahead of the next meeting, which will happen next month in Sydney, Australia,
02:32where Secretary Rubio will be traveling to meet his counterparts in Sydney.
02:36And as you mentioned, hopefully leading into a leaders summit, possibly even later this year.
02:42That has not been said yet, but that is something that all four are working towards.
02:47The Quad is working across various areas together, and that includes humanitarian relief and disaster relief,
02:54joint training, and interoperability between all four partners.
02:59So the more we get together, the more we can advance.
03:03Part of the Quad, I don't know if your viewers might know this, but it's actually relating to new technology,
03:08new and emerging technology.
03:09And so we discussed everything from AI to data centers to, of course, critical minerals.
03:14There is so much that the Quad can work together on, and that's something that we have reinvigorated.
03:20As you know, the Secretary was here in India a few months ago.
03:23We had a Quad meeting.
03:24The Secretary was in Manila just recently for the ASEAN summit.
03:28We had another Quad ministerial meeting there.
03:31Anytime the four leaders are in a place, we should have a Quad meeting.
03:35Anytime the four ministers are in a place, we should have a meeting.
03:37And that's something that I strive to push forward.
03:42And, you know, because you did say there could be a leaders' summit later this year.
03:46I mean, could that be on the sidelines of G20?
03:48Because I think all leaders would be in Florida for the G20.
03:52I don't want to make any commitments just yet because it's not quite set yet.
03:55But I will tell you this, that the United States is incredibly interested in a leaders' summit.
04:00And so as we get closer, I will keep you posted on that.
04:04But the four leaders speak with each other regularly.
04:08And so the next natural step is for all of them to be together around one table
04:13and to advance these shared common goals and shared priorities.
04:17That would be terrific.
04:18I mean, you did announce that the leaders are, the ministerial leaders are going to be meeting up in Sydney
04:23next month,
04:25which would be, you know, again, leading up to that leaders' summit.
04:29Now, let me just, you know, change the topic a little bit.
04:31Now, you know, one of the most interesting things that you've done is your engagement.
04:37And you have a very busy travel schedule.
04:39You know, one day you're in Bombay.
04:41The other day we see you in South India.
04:43Then you're in West India.
04:44Then North India.
04:45You're meeting with the chief ministers.
04:46You're meeting with, engaging with students and IITs and meeting the NSA.
04:52You know, can you, what can you tell us about these meetings?
04:54In fact, you recently called Commerce Minister Pishigul as one of your friends, you know, in New Delhi.
04:59What can you tell us about these conversations you're having, not only, you know, in New Delhi, but across the
05:06nation,
05:07including, you know, the youth and the Gen Z that you've sort of interacted with?
05:11Look, I think it's vitally important for me and for our embassy team to get out of New Delhi also.
05:17We do plenty of meetings in New Delhi, but pick any part of India and the United States can work
05:24together with India in that area.
05:25And so when I travel to Mumbai or Bangalore or Hyderabad, we have incredible commercial opportunities.
05:30We have space opportunities.
05:32We have military joint exercise opportunities.
05:35Meeting with these chief ministers, meeting with your other ministers here in Delhi, meeting with the NSA.
05:41There is so much happening between India and the United States.
05:45And this is something that doesn't get out there enough.
05:48Pick any sector and the United States and India are working together at it.
05:52And the relationship there is stronger today than it was five years ago.
05:56So whether that's pharma or whether that's IT and technology or whether that's military exercises,
06:02India conducts more military exercises with the United States than anyone else.
06:06When it comes to trade, our bilateral trade today is $240 billion.
06:10And the two leaders identified a number of $500 billion that they set to achieve in the next few years.
06:16So no matter the sector, the United States and India are working at it, growing at it, and it will
06:21continue to go to that.
06:23To answer your second part of your question, Minister Goyal is an incredible individual.
06:28He has become a friend here in Delhi, so I always enjoy seeing him.
06:32He travels just as much as I do.
06:34So he's out of the country promoting his business.
06:38But when he is here in town, we do enjoy getting together.
06:41And in fact, we're very happy that he'll soon be traveling to the United States.
06:44He'll be traveling to Chicago in two weeks for the G20 Commerce Ministerial.
06:50We just had the Finance Minister of India this week in North Carolina.
06:55And that all leads up to December and when we will have hopefully Prime Minister Modi joining the G20 Summit
07:03in beautiful and sunny Florida.
07:06Yes, I mean, we obviously are looking forward to that.
07:08I mean, so, you know, just to go back to this conversation, India recently posted, you know, 7.8%
07:15GDP growth.
07:16What are you telling American businesses about, you know, working with India, especially when you also mentioned trade?
07:22I mean, are you excited to see, you know, India doing so well?
07:25And then obviously, you know, having these businesses come invest in India so that there is a goal of $500
07:30billion trade between both the nations?
07:32I mean, what are you telling, you know, some of your American CEOs about India and what's the message you're
07:38giving to them?
07:38Look, great question.
07:40I'll share with you two things.
07:41The trade goes both ways.
07:43And so every U.S. embassy brings in new investments to the United States.
07:47We were incredibly pleased that my embassy here in India came in first.
07:51So other embassies announced $2, $3, $5 billion of new investment into the United States.
07:56We came in first with $24 billion.
07:58On the flip side of that is you're seeing American companies that are coming to India and opening up shop
08:04here.
08:04And so whether that's Microsoft or Google or data centers or AI centers or even pharma companies, there is so
08:11much happening between our two countries.
08:13It comes down to trust and it comes down to stability.
08:16And so India doing well is a great thing for us.
08:19We want a stable India.
08:20We want to work with a stable India.
08:22And that is, I will share this with you, a lot of that is credit to your prime minister.
08:27He brings a stability to India that doesn't exist in other parts of the world.
08:32It's an incredible achievement in such a vibrant democracy that your prime minister has been here for 12 years.
08:38And so that's something that we're very, you know, it's a good thing for the world when there's stability.
08:44Your prime minister brings incredible stability to India.
08:47And that's something that the United States is very pleased with.
08:52Mr. Gaur, you know, we talked about trade.
08:54And let's pivot towards one of the interesting aspects of defense.
08:58And a lot of people may not know this.
09:00You know, 26 years ago, there was almost $0 of defense trade with India.
09:05Now we've seen that number climb up to more than $20, $25 billion.
09:08We recently saw the announcement of, you know, Tata Advanced Systems for the Javelin Joint Venture, a big milestone, something
09:16that, you know, India, I know, has been wanting to do for a long time about manufacturing, co-manufacturing, developing,
09:22co-developing in India.
09:22You know, how does this help with the U.S. goal, especially when it comes to ramping up the global
09:30defense supply chains?
09:31I mean, is this something, you know, it's the first big milestone?
09:35Are we going to be seeing more such deals in the future?
09:38Look, it's a great question.
09:40Our defense relationship is it's not just about sales.
09:43It's also about trust.
09:44The United States doesn't just sell military equipment around the world to everybody.
09:50And so India isn't a group of people that the United States trusts.
09:53We believe we have the best equipment.
09:55We have the best technology.
09:56We have the most advanced technology.
09:58And working with trusted partners like India is an incredible opportunity.
10:01So whether that's the Javelins that you mentioned or whether that's Apache helicopters that got delivered earlier in the year
10:07or various other items that are in the works.
10:11Yes, there is a lot more happening in defense sales, which is a good thing.
10:15But also the relationship is anchored on incredible trust, incredible exercises.
10:20Just a few weeks from now, the largest exercise here in India, Udabas, will be happening in Rajasthan.
10:26That's where the United States and India participate together.
10:29India has more military exercises with the United States than any other country.
10:34And we trust India.
10:35And so that's something that that's an area we'll continue to grow, we'll continue to engage in.
10:39And again, it also comes down to the friendship that our president has with your prime minister.
10:43They truly have a real friendship.
10:45And as you as you saw at the G7 a couple of months ago in France, the president was very
10:51clear.
10:51As long as my friend Prime Minister Modi is there, India will be able to rely on the United States.
10:58That was a very, very, you know, glaring statement that he made, you know, obviously.
11:03Now, moving on to the other, you know, visits that you've announced during the course of this interview.
11:09You've talked about Secretary Rubio and his, you know, upcoming visit to India.
11:14He was there just back in May.
11:16What can you tell us about this upcoming visit, especially, you know, what areas will be discussed?
11:22I know you've mentioned that they're all areas that India and U.S. work with.
11:26But anything specific, any tangible outcomes that we are looking at from this October visit of Secretary Rubio?
11:31Look, any time our leaders speak to each other, good things happen.
11:35And so my goal is to ensure not only the president and the prime minister, but also our ministers are
11:41constantly engaged.
11:42You're seeing a level of engagement that is unmatched from previous years in terms of cabinet officials coming to India
11:49and ministers traveling to to the United States.
11:53And so anytime the secretary is able to come here, I think that's a phenomenal thing.
11:58And his last on his last trip, he came for four days.
12:01As you know, Rahit, the secretary is not able to get away from the White House for four days.
12:05Rarely. That was his longest trip outside of the United States without the president.
12:10And he's actually coming back in October.
12:12I had a minister here ask me.
12:14They said this is very rare that the secretary of the United States,
12:16the secretary of state, would come twice in such a short time to India.
12:20And my message to them was very clear.
12:22Get used to it.
12:23We want to have a closer relationship.
12:25And that means we have to show up and vice versa.
12:28And so I anticipate not only Secretary Rubio, but a lot of other cabinet officials.
12:32In fact, we have some already in the works that we've not announced.
12:36We also have some governors before the end of the year.
12:38I anticipate three governors coming here, one a month from very significant and large states.
12:43And they're all coming because they have seen the incredible opportunities for the United States
12:49and India to work together on and to identify those win-win situations.
12:54This, you know, Ambassador Gornan, and I have to say this, you know, before you came into India last,
13:00this January, it's only been, what, eight months.
13:02There was a period of questioning about the India-U.S. relationship.
13:05And now we see this, I could say, unprecedented, you know, kind of momentum, the frequency of engagement
13:11between both the countries at different levels.
13:15But the question will remain, and a lot of people will ask, is when are we going to see the
13:20trade deal?
13:21Anything you can tell us about that part?
13:23The trade deal is progressing.
13:25As you know, within a month of having reached India as ambassador, we had announced a trade deal.
13:30The Supreme Court, unfortunately, struck down one of the laws in the United States.
13:35And so we've had to go back and rewrite a lot of that.
13:38And so that is being rebuilt.
13:40I am fully confident that we will get a trade deal across the finish line.
13:44And so in the next few weeks, the next few months, hopefully we're able to finalize this trade deal.
13:51I will say, keep in perspective, because a lot of people ask me, well, it's been a year.
13:54Well, the European Union has been 20-plus years, and it's still not done.
13:58And so, you know, we're way ahead of a lot of other partners.
14:03And again, the trade deal, it's a beneficial deal for both sides.
14:09There's incredible opportunities for both sides.
14:12Both sides realize that, and that's something that we'll be able to move on in the very near future.
14:18Okay. And now, you know, we've talked about this engagement, right?
14:22You talked about a finance minister being in the U.S. recently.
14:25We'll obviously see the commerce minister towards the end of this month.
14:29Obviously, Jashunker, Prime Minister Jashunker, is going to be in America.
14:33We know there's going to be a G20 ministerial meeting in October, then moving towards Prime Minister's visit.
14:39But any key bilateral moments or side engagements we can expect at the G20 in December when Prime Minister Modi
14:45travels to Florida?
14:47Well, look, I mean, Dr. Jashunker, who's also, you mentioned that Minister Goyal is one of my favorites, but so
14:53is Dr. Jashunker.
14:55Dr. Jashunker, I believe, and you'll have to check with the MEA, but I anticipate that he'll also be going
15:00to the United States in this month because of the U.N.
15:03And so not only is he going in September, he's hopefully going in October, and then we anticipate he comes
15:09back in December.
15:09So that's three times in the next four months.
15:12That doesn't happen every year.
15:13And so we're very pleased with that.
15:15We're very pleased with that level of engagement.
15:17As it relates to the G20, I don't have any specific announcements for you, but I will say, because the
15:22president considers the prime minister a friend,
15:25I do anticipate that there'll be more to that visit than just a group meeting.
15:31If you had to ask the president, hey, you have 35 people coming, who do you want to see?
15:36The prime minister would be at the top of that list.
15:39Well, that's definitely increasing that.
15:42Before I let you go, two last questions.
15:44First, in looking at the overall momentum, what gives you the highest degree of confidence regarding the direction of the
15:53strategic partnership over the next few months and the next few years?
15:56I think the biggest thing that gives me confidence is you look at the numbers, and the numbers don't lie.
16:02There's opinion on TV every single day.
16:04There's opinion in the United States.
16:06There's opinion in India.
16:07But the numbers don't lie.
16:08And so year after year, our bilateral trade increases.
16:11Year after year, military purchases increase.
16:14Year after year, military exercises increase.
16:16So when you look at the trajectory of this relationship and you look at the numbers, our relationship is doing
16:23this.
16:23It's on a constant rise.
16:25And so that's an incredible thing to witness.
16:28And frankly, it's also an envy for other countries.
16:31Not every country is able to develop this and develop so fast.
16:36One reason that is happening is because we have two leaders that are results-oriented, and they move fast.
16:43Your prime minister wants to get things done, and he wants to get them done fast.
16:46And that is something that the president strongly believes in.
16:49So when those two things align, good things happen.
16:52There's a reason we're having so much engagement.
16:54Virtually every week, you have somebody coming here or somebody going to the United States.
16:59We just had the Quad Sherpa Summit.
17:01We got the Quad Ministerial Summit coming.
17:02We got the G20 coming.
17:04There's so much happening, and that gives me great confidence.
17:09Well, and my last question, Ambassador, you know, we see President Donald Trump right behind you in that portrait.
17:15He had a lot of fun when he came to India.
17:19I think it was 2020, you know, a big, you know, what we've been told, my perspective told,
17:25there's something going on in works for the next year's visit.
17:28I'm not going to ask you to announce anything, but how excited is the president to come back to India?
17:33Look, the president has incredibly fond memories of India.
17:37I spoke to the president earlier this week, and he has incredible fond memories of India.
17:42He recalls his visit here.
17:44Every single time I speak to him, he remembers very fondly the incredible visit that he had here,
17:50the incredible people he met here.
17:52Of course, his dear friend, the prime minister.
17:54And so stay tuned.
17:57That's all I can say.
17:58But, you know, next year we'll be here before you know it.
18:02All right.
18:03Ambassador, thank you so much for taking time off your business schedule and speaking with us.
18:06We look forward to, you know, speaking with you more as these engagements pile up.
18:11And then, obviously, we'd love to see you in person whenever we can.
18:14Thank you so much, Ambassador.
18:16Always great to be with you, Rohit.
18:18And I enjoy watching you on most evenings.
18:21You know, when I get down at the embassy and I get home, quite often I watch India today.
18:26Yeah.
18:27Ambassador, thank you so much for that.
18:28Nepal's flood disaster has claimed 1,295 lives, with nearly 5,000 people still missing after the August 26th flash
18:39floods.
18:40But amidst the devastation, a remarkable rescue has brought fresh hope.
18:45Search operations continue across the worst-hit areas, with authorities still racing to find survivors.
18:52Ashutosh Mishra reports from Ground Zero.
19:20An extraordinary story of survival is emerging from Nepal, giving hope to the flood-ravaged Himalayan nation.
19:30Two hydropower workers have been pulled out alive from a tunnel in Nepal.
19:36Nine days after catastrophic flash floods buried them under mud and debris.
19:44This is a massive success.
19:46After 10 days, two people have been rescued.
19:48And that gives the hope that many more who would be probably trapped.
19:51And again, those people who have been survived, they have been, you know, rescued.
19:55They will give more account of the possibility of locations of those other people who were stranded in the Tamil.
20:03The rescued men have been identified as Sanjay Shah, a mechanical foreman, and Kabir Mahajan, a mechanical supervisor,
20:12trapped inside a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project on the Trishuli River.
20:19Families of the rescued workers are overwhelmed, relieved, and thankful to the rescuers.
20:43The breakthrough came after rescue teams heard human voices from deep inside the tunnel,
20:50sparking fresh hope that more survivors could still be alive.
20:57Speaking after his rescue, Sanjay Shah recounted how the terrifying flash floods buried them.
21:21The Nepali rescuers have since intensified the rescue operation, battling extremely tough conditions.
21:28The August 26th disaster, triggered by a glacier collapse, has killed over 1,300 people.
21:35Rescue teams continue to race against time, working under extremely difficult conditions to locate more survivors.
21:43With Ashutosh Mishra, Bureau Report, India Today.
21:50And finally, ISRO has successfully launched its first-ever dedicated geostationary imaging satellite,
21:59the GSLV-F17 carrying EOS-05.
22:03Major celebrations have broken out at the Space Center,
22:06with high praise pouring in from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders across the political spectrum.
22:12Take a look at this report.
22:19September 4, 2.55 a.m.
22:22While much of the country was asleep, ISRO was scripting another milestone for India.
22:284, 3, 2, 1, 0.
22:33All four L-40s engines generating nominal thrust, S-139 motor ignited.
22:39We have a lift off, a successful launch, a phenomenal spectacle.
22:44Lifting off from the second launch pad at Shri Harikota, GSLV-F17 began the 19th flight of India's geosynchronous satellite
22:54launch vehicle.
23:03Lifting off from India's geosynchronous satellite, S-139 booster and the strap-ons, 18 minutes in,
23:12the GSLV-F17 precisely injected EOS-05 into its intended sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit.
23:22The EOS-05 is India's first-ever dedicated imaging satellite designed to operate from a geosynchronous orbit,
23:31giving the country a new capability for continuous observation.
23:36At around 36,000 kilometers above Earth, EOS-05 will be able to keep a continuous watch over the same
23:44broad region.
23:45Its imagery will support weather monitoring, agriculture, land and water resource assessment and disaster management.
23:53Agencies can get valuable observations for tracking cyclones, floods, forest fires and other rapidly changing events.
24:01It can also add to India's strategic observation capabilities by enabling persistent monitoring of areas of interest.
24:12As he celebrated the successful launch, Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan said the satellite was in perfect health.
24:20I am very happy to announce that GSLV-F17 vehicle has successfully and precisely injected the Advanced Earth Observation Satellite
24:3105,
24:32the geo-emersing star satellite, in the intended and required orbit.
24:37The achievement was also welcomed across the political spectrum.
24:43Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO via an ex-post, calling the mission an outstanding achievement and a proud moment
24:51for the nation.
24:53Congress President Malik Arjun Karge also congratulated the ISRO team.
24:57He said the Congress party has always remained deeply committed to scientific temper and space research.
25:04As the viewers watching us now know, the success of GSLV-F17 carries the weight of a previous setback.
25:14In August 2021, ISRO's GISAT-1 mission carrying EOS-03 failed to place the satellite into orbit.
25:23Five years later, GSLV-F17 has successfully carried EOS-05 into its intended transfer orbit.
25:30With a permanent eye now fixed over the region, India has secured a vantage point that changes the game for
25:37both disaster management and border surveillance.
25:40Bureau Report, India Today.
25:44That's all from me on this edition of NewsTrack. Thanks so much for watching.