- 14 hours ago
Indian ambassador to the United States, Vinay Kwatra, in an exclusive interview with India Today, said that the newly-reached trade deal between India and the US will benefit the two nations.
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00:00And joining us now is the Indian Ambassador to the United States.
00:04Ambassador Quata, thank you so much for making time for us.
00:06I know it's been a very busy week for you the past 8-10 days since the trade deal has
00:11been announced.
00:11So really thank you for doing this with us.
00:13A lot of questions around the trade deal, you know, facts and fact sheets and a lot of text.
00:20But I wanted to start you by asking, how did this all happen?
00:24Now, we've been waiting for this trade deal for some time.
00:26It was announced last year on this time when the Prime Minister was in town.
00:30So what went behind the scene?
00:32I think that's the first thing we want to know.
00:33How were we able to manage to get this deal done?
00:36And, you know, if anything you can provide, at least some tidbits behind the scenes that happened to clinch this
00:42trade deal.
00:44Yeah.
00:45Roy, first of all, thank you so much for having me on your show.
00:50I think we should ask ourselves as to when did this all begin?
00:55You alluded to it very briefly.
00:59But I think the whole thing started last year during Prime Minister's visit to the U.S. in February 2025,
01:09when the two leaders, Prime Minister Modi and President Trump, gave two directions to the administration on both sides.
01:21One was to conclude the first, to start negotiating the first tranche of a mutually beneficial multi-sector bilateral trade
01:33agreement.
01:34And second was that they gave us a target of objective of Mission 500, that is, a bilateral trade of
01:44$500 billion in a few years' time.
01:48What followed thereafter was a series of intense engagements and negotiations between the two sides, including several rounds of discussions
02:01at the ministerial level.
02:03Of course, the chief negotiators on the two sides were in very, very regular touch with each other, always under
02:11the direction and supervision of the leadership.
02:13And it's the result of those intense, dedicated and committed efforts on both sides that we saw first the announcement
02:27through the two leadership level tweets about the trade deal.
02:31And just in a few days thereafter, the text of the framework for an interim agreement was released, which spelt
02:44out precisely the achievements that the two sides had made during these negotiations.
02:52And the result is that you have a trade deal between the two countries.
02:59So I think it's a process that started a year ago and a year later, the process that was started
03:07by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump.
03:10And under their direction, we now have a very concrete achievement on both sides in terms of framework for an
03:19interim agreement.
03:20You know, Ambassador, it did take a long, long time, almost a year, you know, like 350 some days now,
03:27you know, if I have to be exact.
03:30Just and you've been at the forefront of these negotiations and you've obviously participated in some of these conversations by
03:36yourself and also, you know, in helping things iron out between both the countries.
03:42Was there a point where, you know, you know, you're like, all right, this is finally going to happen, like,
03:45or were you also kind of, you know, this could happen tomorrow, it could happen, you know, a few weeks
03:49from now, like everybody, there was suspense around this trade deal.
03:53So I'm trying to understand, like, you know, when were you very confident, okay, now this is the time it
03:57will happen eventually.
03:59I think it is in the very nature of these discussions that they are not done till they are finally
04:05done.
04:06And as you yourself saw that the deal was announced following a conversation, around multiple conversations, of course, between the
04:16two leaders.
04:17And then the negotiators released the joint statement.
04:20So I think it's a, you know, the process of negotiation is such that you announce it once it is
04:27concluded.
04:28And I think that's what one has to focus on.
04:32I think how one felt or didn't feel, frankly, is not really a question that would even be relevant in
04:42this case.
04:42I think what's relevant is that we did intense series of negotiations, and we achieved the mandate that the two
04:51leaders had given to the two systems.
04:53And we now have, as I said, the interim framework for an interim agreement.
05:00Now, I do have, I've learned from some sources that it was a very happy phone call that took place
05:05within the Prime Minister and the President,
05:06that, you know, there was a lot of, you know, happiness around it.
05:10And then finally, you know, it was decided, all right, you know, this is the time to do it.
05:13You know, we've got this trade agreement that we probably should look at.
05:17Now that this has been announced, what could be the benefit to the U.S. and India relationship?
05:24I'm not talking about, you know, what India gets from it or the U.S. gets from it.
05:28The benefit to the relationship in itself, which has been on an upward trajectory for the past 25, 30 years
05:33or so.
05:35You know, you're referring to happiness, I mean, you can call it by whichever name.
05:42But I think it is indeed, I would say, a new economic anchor in our strategic partnership,
05:51this framework for an interim agreement.
05:55Very extensive and specific details of this have already been spelt out by the Honourable Commerce and Industry Minister of
06:05India
06:06over several interviews in Delhi, including to your channel.
06:14So, as you rightly said, those details are already available.
06:18So, one would not want to talk about it.
06:20But I think we should ask ourselves that this new economic anchor in our strategic partnership,
06:28what exactly does it mean for the stakeholders on both sides,
06:33particularly in this case to the stakeholders on the Indian side?
06:37So, for example, if you say, what does it mean for the Indian industry?
06:43What does it mean for the Indian manufacturing?
06:46What does it mean for our partnership in case of technology,
06:51business to business engagement in terms of capital flows,
06:55in terms of what we're able to do with innovation,
06:58in terms of how it feeds into our own goals and priorities of Iksit Bharat 2047?
07:04So, if you ask yourself, if you take industries, for example,
07:09whether it is the export of Indian industrial goods
07:12or it is the exports of commodity-based manufactured Indian goods
07:18or it is the export of Indian agri-produced,
07:22the trade deal obviously opens up the massive US market of $30 trillion.
07:31Honourable Commerce Industry Minister has alluded to it.
07:35But alongside the trade benefit, the export-related benefit
07:40that it would accrue to the Indian industry and the industrial stakeholders,
07:44it also opens up a significant opportunity for technology
07:50and capital-based partnership between the industries on both sides
07:54across various sectors of industry.
07:56Two, alongside this, if you look at the entire domain of technology,
08:04not just the already strong areas of partnership
08:12in the semiconductor-based technologies between the two countries,
08:17but also the emerging space of artificial intelligence,
08:22different layers of artificial intelligence,
08:26right from energy, infra, to compute, to development of AI products,
08:32to the deployment, adoption, diffusion of AI products
08:35across different sectors of industry.
08:39The entire innovation ecosystem surrounding the semiconductor
08:44and the technology ecosystem, the partnerships in those areas,
08:47the capital flows between the two countries in these spaces,
08:53this whole sector opens up as a massive opportunity.
08:59It already was there.
09:01There was already a degree of cooperation taking place.
09:05But after this deal, it gives everybody confidence
09:10that this sector will get considerable boost.
09:14Now, flowing out of exports, increased exports,
09:18that would be consequence of this trade deal from India to the US market,
09:23and also derivative of large investment flows,
09:28technology partnership.
09:30Naturally, it is to be expected that this would give rise
09:34to significant employment generation in the Indian economy,
09:38employment generation, which is very, very significant
09:42for the developing economy,
09:44and also for our goal to achieve Viksit Bharat in 2047.
09:49You also would have noticed that insofar as the interests
09:54of the farming community,
09:57the sensitive farm produce that India has,
10:00the export interest of agri-produce that India has,
10:04insofar as the US market is concerned,
10:06they will also get a considerable fillip.
10:09So if I was to, you know, summarize it
10:12and capture it for you,
10:15one, you know, clear, strong, concrete impetus
10:20to Mission 500,
10:22that is a bilateral trade of US dollar 500
10:25that was set by the two leaders
10:28during Prime Minister's visit to the US in February 2025,
10:31one, two, flowing out of this,
10:35strong capital technology innovation-based partnership
10:40between the two countries,
10:42including in the space of critical emerging technologies,
10:49and three, all this gets positioned
10:52in the larger space of our strategic partnership.
10:58It strengthens it further.
11:00At the same time, it drives it forward,
11:03drives it forward in terms of building
11:05really concrete partnership
11:07between the business and industry
11:09on the two sides,
11:10and hence, therefore,
11:12naturally linking the two economies
11:14more extensively, more deeply.
11:17Now, we do know, Ambassador,
11:19that the USTR is going to be in India in March.
11:23Is that when we expect it
11:25to finally have the agreement signed?
11:27Is that something that you could speak to,
11:29or is it too early to even say that?
11:33We remain focused, as I said,
11:35one, on tapping the opportunities
11:38that flow out of trade deals,
11:39and naturally also trying to complete
11:41the process of concluding the first tranche
11:44of BTA as early as possible.
11:46That, I think, the two negotiators
11:48remain very closely and intensely engaged
11:51with each other.
11:53Okay.
11:54Ambassador, there's going to be
11:55this big AI summit next week in India.
11:59We are expecting, I mean,
12:00it's pretty much, you know,
12:01the entire American industry from AI.
12:05Everybody is in India.
12:06We obviously see some government officials
12:08also traveling to India
12:09to participate in this.
12:11Can you talk to us about the AI summit
12:13and, you know, what we could look forward to
12:15from all these, you know,
12:16I would say probably big, bigs,
12:17you know, everybody,
12:18except I think some few
12:20who are not dealing in AI
12:22is going to be in India.
12:23So just tell us about this AI summit
12:25and what can we expect
12:26in terms of India-
12:27No, it's, no, you're very right.
12:30It's really a very exciting high mark
12:35very early on in 2026,
12:37the AI Impact Summit in India,
12:41the first AI summit to be held
12:44in a Global South country.
12:47It is featuring the largest contingent
12:51in the AI summit is from the United States
12:54and encompassing, of course,
12:57the industry leaders, the CEOs,
13:01a sizable contingent
13:03from the U.S. government itself.
13:08In terms of the priorities
13:11and focus for this AI summit,
13:15you know, as has been put out publicly,
13:19the summit would be anchored
13:22on three sutras,
13:23which is of people, progress,
13:25and planet.
13:26But broadly,
13:28this bold,
13:29a new vision of AI
13:32for the government of India
13:34under the leadership
13:35of Prime Minister Modi,
13:36which he has himself
13:37articulated several times,
13:39is the democratization
13:41of technology.
13:42AI for all
13:44essentially
13:45is the impact aspect
13:47that we would all be looking at.
13:50And this impact
13:51of democratization
13:53of technology,
13:54in this case,
13:55AI,
13:57and its access to all
13:59would manifest itself
14:01in terms of people first,
14:03which means essentially
14:04the inclusion,
14:05the inclusivity,
14:06progress,
14:07and the planet.
14:09We have,
14:10at this summit,
14:12given very strong priority
14:14and focus
14:14to the impact part
14:16of the AI,
14:16which essentially
14:18would include
14:21aspects relating
14:22to adoption
14:23of AI,
14:24its diffusion
14:25across
14:26multiple industries,
14:29so that
14:32it's not just
14:33the development
14:34of product
14:35of AI,
14:36which is the
14:37language models,
14:38the large language models
14:39that one speaks of.
14:41That, of course,
14:42is a priority aspect
14:44for the government,
14:45but also
14:47its deployment,
14:49its adoption,
14:50its diffusion,
14:51development of applications
14:52around it,
14:53which can benefit
14:54people at large.
14:56Ultimately,
14:58if one takes
14:59the massive success
15:01under the leadership
15:03of Prime Minister Modi
15:04of adoption
15:06of technology
15:07for inclusion
15:08into the financial mechanisms,
15:10the UPI
15:12technology framework,
15:13the entire
15:14technology,
15:15India technology
15:16stack that
15:17got developed,
15:19essentially democratizing
15:20the use of technology
15:22for better governance,
15:23for creating a value
15:24in the society
15:25eventually.
15:26And I think
15:26it will be no different
15:27for AI.
15:29It's essentially
15:30a new
15:32step,
15:33I would say,
15:34new tool,
15:34whatever you want
15:35to call it,
15:36in terms of
15:37development
15:38and evolution
15:38of technology,
15:40but we remain
15:41heavily focused
15:41on all aspects
15:43of AI,
15:44right,
15:44as I mentioned
15:45earlier on,
15:46on the energy
15:46layer of it,
15:48infrastructure layer
15:49of it,
15:50obviously the compute
15:51part of it,
15:52development of products,
15:53which is the LLMs,
15:54and of course
15:56the most significant
15:59from our objective
16:01point of view,
16:01which is the
16:02adoption and diffusion.
16:04I have no doubt
16:06that
16:07the summit
16:08would also open up
16:09extensive
16:10new opportunities
16:11of partnership
16:13between India
16:14and the US,
16:15two countries,
16:16but also as two
16:17technology ecosystems
16:19and the two economies
16:20in terms of
16:21what they can
16:22do with
16:25in terms of
16:26cooperation
16:26between our two
16:27countries in this space.
16:29Okay,
16:29thank you so much
16:30for that.
16:30I do have one
16:31last question
16:32for you
16:32before I can
16:32let you go.
16:34Now that we have
16:35the trade agreement,
16:36what are some
16:37of the other
16:37tangible things
16:38that we could
16:39probably see
16:40in 2026?
16:41Look,
16:41I mentioned
16:42to you
16:42that the
16:44trade agreement
16:45opens up
16:46significant aspects
16:48of cooperation
16:49across these
16:50different areas
16:51of technology,
16:53industry,
16:54business-to-business,
16:55trade,
16:55capital flows,
16:56etc.
16:58And,
16:58as I said,
16:59this is a new
17:00anchor to our
17:01strategic partnership.
17:03Look,
17:04we,
17:04in the last
17:05one year,
17:06have continued
17:07our cooperation
17:08across multiple areas.
17:10You would have
17:11noticed
17:11most recently
17:13the visit
17:14of Minister
17:15Ashwini Veshna
17:16for the
17:17participation
17:18in the
17:20meeting
17:21that was convened
17:22by Treasury
17:22Secretary Scott
17:23Peasant
17:24in the field
17:25of critical minerals
17:26just a week,
17:2810 days ago.
17:30Actually,
17:31on the 4th
17:32of earlier
17:32this month,
17:34Honorable External
17:34Affairs Minister
17:35of India
17:35was in D.C.
17:36to participate
17:37in the critical
17:38minerals area.
17:40We have
17:41continued our
17:42partnership
17:42in the defense
17:43and security space.
17:44you would have
17:45noticed the signing
17:46of the 10-year
17:46framework agreement
17:47between the two
17:48countries.
17:49So,
17:49I think our
17:50cooperation
17:51partnership agenda
17:52is very clear
17:53before us
17:55for the year ahead
17:57and that
17:57we would continue
17:58to pursue
18:00with strong
18:01vigor and intensity.
18:03All right,
18:04Abaza,
18:04thank you so much
18:04for making time
18:05for us.
18:06We look forward
18:06to seeing you
18:07back in the U.S.
18:08when you come back
18:09from a very successful
18:10way.
18:11Thank you very much.
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