Published on: Dec 25, 2025 01:41 am IST
This comes amid tensions between India and the US, stemming from Donald Trump’s tariff policies and Washington scrapping the H-1B visa lottery
India’s Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, met with his American counterpart, Sergio Gor, at US President Donald Trump’s residence, Mar-a-Lago in Florida, and held extensive discussions on trade ties amid tariff tensions and the suspension of the H-1B visa lottery.
Kwatra undertook his first visit to Mar-a-Lago and held discussions with Gor, the US Ambassador to India and Special Envoy to South and Central Asia. According to his post on the social media platform X, the discussion centred on the “shared goal” of strengthening trade ties between India and the United States.
Both diplomats also talked about the priorities for the bilateral partnership.
“Happy to connect with @USAmbIndia Sergio Gor in Mar-a-Lago. Extensive discussions on our shared goal to (strengthen) trade ties, as also his plans and priorities for our bilateral partnership as he prepares to assume his responsibility as the US Ambassador to India!” Kwatra said in the post.
Sergio Gor also talked about the meeting in a separate X post, saying that it is “always a pleasure to meet with India’s Ambassador to the US @AmbVMKwatra. This was his first visit to Mar-a-Lago!”
This comes amid tensions between India and the US, stemming from Trump’s tariff policies. The Trump administration also recently scrapped the H-1B visa lottery system, which will affect Indians the most.
Was Donald Trump present during the meeting?
While Donald Trump is also currently in Florida’s Mar-a-Lago, there is no indication that he attended the meeting between the US ambassador to India and his Indian counterpart.
Trump arrived at his Palm Beach, Florida, residence over the weekend for the Christmas holidays.
Later on Thursday, the Republican leader will participate in NORAD Santa Calls and make calls to service members.
He did meet the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay, with Sergio Gor posting a photo of the two leaders on Tuesday.
“Enjoyed hosting Prime Minister @tsheringtobgay of Bhutan on his first visit to the GREAT State of Florida!” Gor wrote in a post on X.
