MODERATOR: May I present Ambassador Sergio Gor, Secretary Marco Rubio. Please stand on the red carpet for brief remarks. Ambassador.
AMBASSADOR GOR: Well, I just want to welcome our great Secretary of State again to India. We had a phenomenal meeting today with the prime minister. It’s a relationship we deeply care about. It’s a relationship that is growing. Literally today, the Secretary opened a brand new building right here. So that is a partnership that we are continuing to grow. We have our Quad meeting. Since I have arrived here a few months ago, we had settled our trade deal. India has joined Pax Silica. Investment is at record levels, and this partnership will continue to grow. And today, the Secretary extended an invite to Prime Minister Modi to come visit the White House on behalf of the President, so we have some great things ahead.
SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah, it’s an honor and it’s great to be here, to see this facility and the embassy, and to open a new building – that’s really going to make us more efficient in terms of the work we do here – and obviously to thank our locally employed staff here as well, which are excellent. And we had a very productive meeting today. We’ll have very productive meetings in this visit.
India is at the cornerstone of how the United States approaches the Indo-Pacific, and not just through the Quad but bilaterally. You see that in the $20 billion of Indian companies invested in the United States; you see it in their signing up for Pax Silica. But you also see it in the other opportunities we have to explore, between two advanced economies – I know there’s a lot of American interest in the corporate side in the United States, highly skilled labor, highly skilled workers here, production capabilities and vice versa in the United States as well. So there’s just so much for us to work on, and we have a very solid foundation.
I think it’s also appropriate – and we’ll talk more about this tomorrow – to be here to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, our 250th birthday, in which the world’s oldest economy in the United States and the world’s – sorry, the world’s oldest democracy in the United States and the world’s largest democracy here in India are natural partners now and in the future. So it’s a great relationship already. It really is. We have – we do so much together and there’s so much more to do.
And so I hope that this visit continues to add to those areas in which we work together in a variety of forums and settings and in a variety of sectors and areas. So thank you for covering this. Thank you.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, have you heard back from the Iranians about the new deal?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Have I what now? I’m sorry.
QUESTION: Have you heard back from the Iranians today?
SECRETARY RUBIO: There may be news later today. I don’t have news for you at this very moment, but there might be some news a little later today. There may not be. I hope there will be but I’m not sure yet.
QUESTION: Do – what kind of thing are you hearing with (inaudible)?
SECRETARY RUBIO: The question is about the Iranian issue. And as I said, there’s been some progress done, some progress made. Even as I speak to you now, there’s some work being done. There is a chance that, whether it’s later today, tomorrow, in a couple of days, we may have something to say. But this issue needs to be solved, and the President has said one way or the other, Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, the straits need to be open without tolls, they need to turn over their enriched uranium, they need to turn – their highly enriched uranium. We need to address that issue; we need to address the issue of enrichment.
These are the President’s points consistently, and his preference is always to deal with it in a diplomatic way. The President’s preference is always to solve problems such as these through a negotiated diplomatic solution. That’s what we’re working on right now. But this problem will be solved, as the President’s made clear, one way or the other. We hope it’s done through the diplomatic route. That’s what we’re working on. And perhaps there’ll be something to talk about on that topic while I’m here on this visit at some point. Okay? Thank you.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, do you know when prime minister’s going to U.S.? Mr. Secretary —
MODERATOR: Mr. Secretary, Ambassador Gor, thank you so much. Enjoy the evening.
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