US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti while delivering a keynote address at the Indiaspora G20 forum on Tuesday said that US President Joe Biden has told him that India is the most important country in the world to him. Garcetti on Tuesday highlighted the close collaboration between his country and India in various fields, including technology, trade, environment and space. Garcetti said that Indian Americans comprise six per cent of taxpayers in the US. His statement came ahead of Biden's visit to India which is slated to take place next month during which the US President will attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in Delhi.


News agency ANI quoted him as saying, "He (President Biden) told me, when he asked me to come here to serve, he said, this is the most important country in the world to me, I think something that no American president has ever uttered in the history of our two countries."






The US Ambassador then shed light on how the relationship has evolved over time. Garcetti said, "In just five months of my time as Ambassador, we have had a state visit and those of you who follow Diplomacy know that if you can two or three agreements then that's a pretty successful state visit. We had 131 different things that we were talking from technology to trade, from the environment to women's empowerment, from small businesses to space. We used to say that the sky is the limit but now that we are working together in space then not even the sky is the limit."


He then talked about how India is strengthening the US and said, "Four million people (Indians) who represent 1 per cent population in America are now 6 per cent of the taxpayers. They are 10 per cent of Fortune 500 CEOs."





Recently, the US Ambassador to India completed 100 days after his posting here. He posted a video on his X (formerly known as Twitter) handle, which showed glimpses of his tours to several Indian states. The video also showed him meeting with various political leaders and people.


In a tweet, the envoy said that he was excited to elevate the partnership between India and the US in his tenure.