00:01Good evening. All right, before I give my speech, I just got a call from a special guest who's on
00:10the line. Can you hear us, Mr. President?
00:14I can't hear you. I love India. I love India. So I know you're there, and I hope you make
00:21a good speech. You have to be representative of our country, Sergio.
00:25But I just want to say hello to everybody. I love the Prime Minister. Modi is great. He's my friend.
00:33And I just want to say a very, very good evening to everybody. It's morning here, and it's evening there.
00:39And I just want to say you're great.
00:41And we've never been closer to India. And India can count on me 100% and our country. If they
00:48ever need help, they know where to call. They call right here.
00:51We're doing well. We're setting records. We have a record economy, a record stock market, and anything India wants to
00:59get. And I'm a big, big fan of Prime Minister Modi.
01:03Thank you, sir. Marco Rubio's here. Any advice for a great Secretary of State?
01:09Well, Marco's the greatest. He's going down as the greatest Secretary of State in the history of the U.S.
01:16And you have some big ones there. When you have Marco, Sergio, when you have Marco, you're getting the big
01:22stuff.
01:23That's big.
01:23That's very good.
01:25Well, Marco, go have a good time. I know you're going to represent us well.
01:29And everybody, enjoy your evening. And it's an honor to talk and say hello to Prime Minister Modi.
01:35And let him know I'm a big fan.
01:37Thank you, sir. Have a great day. Thank you. We appreciate you.
01:41Thank you. Thank you.
01:44How about that?
01:46All right, ladies and gentlemen, friends, colleagues, Mr. Secretary, Minister Jay Schechter,
01:53we are so glad you could all be here tonight to join us for this incredible celebration of 250 years
02:01for the United States. Two and a half centuries ago, the United States began as an experiment in liberty
02:09and self-government. As you travel here tonight, you may have seen what we at the embassy have dubbed
02:16our Freedom Fleet, the Otter rickshaws, known as the tuk-tukes, decorated to celebrate America's 250th birthday.
02:24This fleet is a symbol of our proud journey of democracy, a journey we are honored to share with our
02:32Indian partners.
02:34As any of you who have ridden in an Otter rickshaw know, the beauty of the journey is that you
02:40aren't welled off in a car,
02:41you're actually part of the world. You're part of the landscape, you are part of the environment,
02:48you see the sights, you hear the sounds, and you feel the energy of the city.
02:53Our partnership follows a similar path. We recognize that the most meaningful progress
03:00is a straight, predictable road.
03:03It happens when we have the agility to navigate new routes together, finding the direct openings
03:11that lead to real achievement.
03:13This open path of diplomacy is driven by the personal bond between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi.
03:21I hear about it every time the President and I speak.
03:26One of the first questions the President will ask is,
03:28how is my friend, the Prime Minister, doing?
03:31And that is something that is important to convey,
03:34because this relationship is not new, it's not a year old, it's not two years old.
03:39It stems almost a decade.
03:41Together, they have redefined what is possibly by moving with a shared sense of purpose
03:47and a relentless focus on the future.
03:50From George Washington to President Donald Trump,
03:53the United States remains a shiny beacon for the world.
03:58President Trump and Prime Minister Modi are leaders who have championed a new vision
04:05for the partnership between our two nations.
04:08One that is transparent, one that is agile, and above all, one that is results-oriented.
04:16Every week at the embassy, I tell my team,
04:19what are we going to achieve this week, the results matter.
04:23These two individuals, President Trump, Prime Minister Modi,
04:26they also recognize the immense potential of our two nations.
04:29And are dedicated to finding new direct ways for us to work together.
04:34This bond is the foundation of a new era,
04:38one where we are actively delivering on the promise of our cooperation
04:43and building a future of tangible achievements.
04:46Since I arrived in New Delhi just five months ago,
04:50we have announced an interim trade deal that hopefully in the next few weeks will get signed.
04:55India has been invited, accepted, and joined Pax Silica.
04:59And commercial diplomacy is at record high levels.
05:03I am specifically proud that every embassy competes to bring investment into the United States.
05:08And our embassy in India came in number one in the world
05:12with $20.5 billion of new investments into the United States.
05:19Tonight is not only about celebrating history.
05:22It is about looking ahead to a new era of shared success
05:26driven by the extraordinary momentum in the U.S.-India partnership.
05:31Since I've arrived here, I've been honored to advocate for our assured future,
05:36ensuring that top decision makers in Washington recognize the U.S.-India relationship.
05:42As you know, we have a direct line to everybody in the administration,
05:47but especially to our president.
05:49That is the partnership that opens markets, drives innovation,
05:53and creates high-quality jobs for both Americans and Indians.
05:59America first does not mean America alone.
06:03And every week we identify opportunities that are win-win situations for both of our nations.
06:10I'm especially proud that this spring, our embassy brought a record-breaking delegation,
06:16which will continue over the weeks, months ahead as we continue our work here in India.
06:24But today also is a very special evening here because it is somebody's first trip to India.
06:32I want to welcome somebody who's an extraordinary individual.
06:35This is somebody who is not able to leave the White House every single day
06:40because he's usually with the president.
06:42This is somebody who's not just in one position,
06:45but he's also the national security advisor.
06:48I want to welcome and I want to ask everybody here to help me welcome
06:54somebody I consider a dear friend,
06:56but somebody who will go down in history as possibly the greatest secretary of state of the United States.
07:04Please help me welcome the extraordinary secretary, Marco Rubio.
07:30Well, Sergio, let me just say this.
07:32We have great ambassadors everywhere all over the world,
07:35but I don't know anyone who's a better event producer of all of our ambassadors
07:38than what Sergio's put on here today.
07:40We're not even halfway through the evening.
07:42Sergio, this is a great event in honor of the 250 years of our country.
07:47And I want to thank you.
07:48Not only are you doing a great job tonight,
07:49but Sergio and his team here at the U.S. Embassy are doing a phenomenal job every single day
07:53and one of the most important relationships we have in the world.
07:56Thank you, Sergio.
07:57And thank you to our embassy team and everybody that works on it every single day.
08:02I also want to thank all of our friends from the diplomatic corps,
08:06various countries, so many that are here today representing your countries.
08:09We're honored and we're grateful that you would be here today
08:11to recognize the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America.
08:16We're very grateful all of you are here.
08:18Thank you for coming.
08:19It's an honor to share this evening with all of you.
08:21It's a true privilege.
08:22And obviously, I would be remiss if I did not thank both the welcome
08:26and the hospitality that we've gotten from everybody here in India
08:30and all of your government leaders and, in particular, the foreign minister
08:34who's become someone I've gotten to know very well.
08:36In fact, and I say this, maybe you've heard me say this before,
08:39but let me say it just one more time and then the story gets old.
08:41When I became Secretary of State,
08:44I was sworn in like at noon or 11 a.m. that morning after the inauguration.
08:49I immediately went over to the State Department and the first meeting I ever had
08:54was with a group of the four countries known as the Quad
08:59and one of the people that I met on that very first day
09:01and I've interacted with him so many times as foreign minister, Zay Shankar.
09:05And he's been phenomenal.
09:06He's a truly wise gentleman and does incredible work on behalf of your country
09:11and someone that I have tremendous esteem and respect for.
09:15In fact, I told Sergio when he came here, I said get to know the foreign minister
09:20because he truly knows what he's talking about in terms of global events.
09:24Look, we're honored to be here today to celebrate 250 years of our country
09:28and we're very proud of the United States of America.
09:31We're very proud of its achievements.
09:32There's a lot of things to be proud of about America.
09:35The one thing I'm really proud about America is it has served as a beacon of hope
09:38not just around the world but to individuals.
09:41My own parents were not born in the United States.
09:46My own parents came in 1956.
Comments