Former US President Donald Trump has promised that he will take America’s relationship with India to the next level if he wins the 2024 presidential election.
In a Diwali speech organized by the Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC) at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump told a gathering of about 200 Native Americans that he has great relationships with Hindus, India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said he will appoint RHC founder Shalabh Kumar as his ambassador to India if he is elected US President in 2024.
A video of Trump’s speech at last Friday’s Diwali reception was released Tuesday by RHC, in which the former president says he hasn’t announced yet if he will run, but if he does and wins in 2024, he has done certain commitments to the Indian-American community.
We had support both times (2016 and 2020) from the Hindu people, the great Hindu people, and great support from India, people from India. I fully supported the idea of erecting a Hindu Holocaust memorial in (Washington) DC. “I think it’s about time we got this done,” Trump said.
Trump said he likely would not have won 2016 without the support of the Hindu community in the battleground states.
He promised that if he wins the 2024 presidential election, he will take America’s relationship with India to the next level.
In his remarks, Kumar said Trump has been a strong friend of the Hindu community and the RHC is proud of the achievements he has made over the years to empower and encourage the diaspora in America.
Diwali is a time for all of us to reflect on the victory of light over darkness and look forward to a new year of prosperity and peace, he said.
Under Trump, U.S.-India ties had never been stronger as both sides maintained a relationship built on confronting common threats from Pakistan and China and respect and admiration for one another, the RHC said in a statement. India-US relations made great strides in 2017, with President Trump delivering on his campaign promise to be India’s best friend in the White House.
India was the only country for which the Trump administration presented a 100-year plan; an honor not even accorded to America’s best allies.
Not only has the Trump administration renamed the Asia-Pacific region the Indo-Pacific, much to China’s concern, and given New Delhi a greater role and space throughout the region, but it has also clearly spelled out, for the first time, the United States that India is a major player in Afghanistan.
When Trump announced his South Asia policy in August, giving India a key role in bringing peace to the war-torn nation, it was the first time a US president endorsed New Delhi’s position that terrorism originated in Pakistan.
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