US President Donald Trump on Sunday praised India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a virtual address at the US Embassy’s 250th Independence Day celebration in New Delhi. Trump assured India of his full support and described himself as a “big, big fan” of PM Modi. His remarks came at a time when India and the United States are expanding cooperation in areas such as trade, defence and the Quad partnership.

Speaking virtually at the event, Trump expressed his admiration for India and PM Modi while greeting the audience gathered at the embassy celebration. “I love India. You (Ambassador Gor) have to make a good speech as a representative of our country. I just want to say hello to everybody. I love the Prime Minister. PM Modi is great; he is my friend,” Trump said during the interaction.

The US President also highlighted the strength of the relationship between the two countries and assured continued support for India. “India can count on me 100 per cent. They call right here. We're doing well. We're setting records. We have a record economy, a record stock market and anything India wants to get. I am a big, big fan of Prime Minister Modi,” Trump said.

Trump also praised US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is currently visiting India for the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Calling Rubio one of the best leaders in the administration, Trump said, “Marco is the greatest. He is going down as the greatest Secretary of State in the history of our country.”

Rubio’s India visit comes at an important diplomatic moment as India prepares to host senior representatives from the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, commonly known as the Quad. The grouping includes India, the United States, Japan and Australia. In recent years, the Quad has emerged as a major strategic platform focusing on Indo-Pacific security, maritime cooperation and strengthening supply chains amid China’s increasing regional influence.

The Independence Day event at the US Embassy was attended by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, Marco Rubio and India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. During the event, Ambassador Gor stressed the strong personal bond between Trump and PM Modi and said bilateral ties had become stronger than ever.

“Every time the President and I speak, one of the first questions the President will ask is, ‘How is my friend, the Prime Minister, doing?’” Gor said.

“And that is something that is important to convey because this relationship is not new,” he added.

The US Ambassador described the India-US partnership as entering “a new era of shared success”. According to him, growing investments, stronger trade ties and strategic cooperation are driving the relationship forward.

“This bond is the foundation of a new era. We are actively delivering on the promise of our cooperation and building a future of tangible achievements,” Gor said.

The event also reflected growing optimism around an interim trade agreement currently being negotiated between India and the United States. Ambassador Gor revealed that the framework for the deal had already been announced and expressed hope that the agreement could be signed in the coming weeks.

“Since I arrived in New Delhi just five months ago, we have announced an interim trade deal that, hopefully, in the next few weeks, will get signed,” he said.

Earlier, in an interview with India Today TV, Rubio had also spoken about the progress of the long-pending trade agreement between the two countries. Without sharing specific details, he said negotiations had reached the final stage and expressed confidence that a deal could be completed soon.

“We're down to very final details,” Rubio said.

“I'm very confident we all have a lot of reason to be optimistic that we're on the verge of a trade deal.”

Rubio added that the proposed agreement could help strengthen business and economic ties between India and the United States. The positive remarks from top American leaders during the embassy event reflected the growing strategic and economic partnership between the two countries as both sides continue to deepen cooperation across multiple sectors.