A day after a high-powered committee set up by the Union government to examine inputs provided by the United States on an alleged plot to kill Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun recommended “legal action against an individual”, outgoing US ambassador ERIC GARCETTI said it was a “very welcome step”. In an interview to SHUBHAJIT ROY on Thursday, Garcetti said he hoped nobody in Washington should “reduce the US-India ties to mutual feelings about China”, and stressed that the relationship between the two nations stands on its own feet. Excerpts: The Indian government has come out with a report about actions being taken with regard to the Pannun assassination plot. How do you view this development? I think it's a very welcome first step. I was pleased to see it. I know folks in Washington were (also pleased) not only because it talks about justice and holding people accountable, but also it reflects the seriousness with which India took our concerns. And I've always said the test of a relationship isn't when things are easy, the test is when they are challenging. And the US-India relationship has never been stronger, not just because of the heights that we are navigating, but the way we are walking through the valley together. We said systemic reform and accountability were very important, and both of those were in this, so it's not the end of the road, it's a really welcome first step. To all the doubters who said India wouldn't take this seriously, or US and India are at odds, our work has not slowed down. In fact, it's probably accelerated during this time on military, economic, cultural, educational work and so I think it is good news… Was this the toughest part of the conversation when you had to confront India with the information on the plot? Sure initially, but I have to say, from the very beginning, I was very impressed with how my Indian counterparts listened and always responded with seriousness. Never felt like they weren't listening to us and vice versa. When India has come to us to say after the attack on the San Francisco consulate (of India), for instance, or in the (Tahawwur) Rana case, I think both of us are listening very deeply to the concerns that we have… when our laws are violated, when the safety of our personnel are threatened. And to me, this too shows that the US and India are in this for the long haul. This is not a fresh, overnight kind of relationship. This is something in which we see our future together, and whether we're preparing our supply chains, whether we're educating our people, whether we're investing in our defence infrastructure, we're determined to not let anyone or anything derail that. When I think about where we're today, the depth and breadth of our relationship a generation ago was unimaginable today, as we look to the future, a generation from now, it will be indispensable… The iCET began during your time, how do you see it develop from here? iCET will continue in the next administration, and already the transition team is talking about that being a focus. Ideas like IMEEC, you know, the India Middle East European Economic Corridor, just as this administration took on the work of the first (Donald) Trump administration in restrengthening the Quad… So the story isn't really about administrations. I think Joe Biden would be the first to say that. And this is a President who told me, when he asked me to be Ambassador here, that this was the most important country in the world. No US President has ever said that before. And this is the most pro-Indian US President in history, just as I believe Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi has been the most pro-US Prime Minister in Indian history, and they had pretty high shoulders to stand on before from their predecessors. So the legacy of this is how do we use technology to connect and protect instead of to harm and divide. And I think we've made huge progress in defence, in space, I think we have made really good progress in telecommunications. I think in semiconductors, the investments have been historic from American companies here. Now quantum and AI and energy, I think, are the next frontiers. So the idea behind iCET is not that it's a destination. It is a commitment that if we create a frictionless corridor to trade technology and to trade goods and manufacturing between our two countries, and then export that to the world, that the US-India relationship can reshape the overdependence we have and the national security and economic threats we have with our overdependence on one country, but it's not just about that country. It's also about the brilliance of Indians, Indian engineers, the brilliance of American universities, the brilliance of our companies collectively and I think we trust each other so much that you're seeing Indian companies invest in the United States directly in a way we've never seen before, creating American jobs, and American companies are knocking down my door as Ambassador to get to India, not just because it's a big market, but because they see the capacity of India as a place to make things for the world. You talk about that one country — China. How do you see the relations of India and the US vis-a-vis China? We both want good relations with China. Nobody wants to increase conflict, and I think we both achieved that in the last couple years. That's a good sign for China, good sign for us. But we are also eyes wide open that we are democracies, that we do business, not about the size of and power of our countries doesn't mean that we should be able to dictate the rules. We should do that collectively. We should look at that as two democracies where the rule of law, free, open Indo-Pacific is the rule of the day, not the obligations and debt traps of development models that don't work. I hope, though, that nobody in Washington will ever again reduce the US-India relationship to mutual feelings about China, our relationship stands on its own feet. It doesn't need any other country. It exists in record visas, record students, record trade, record space cooperation, record defence exercises and weapons sales. We'd have to create a Guinness Book just for US-India relations over the last two, three years. And those numbers speak for themselves. The desire is not just of leaders, and it's not just the reflection of threats. It's the desire of our people and of the opportunities. What are the high points and the low points of your stint as Ambassador here? I think the high and the low point was when we almost beat India in the T 20 cricket world cup, but then we lost. And I think that's the best for an Ambassador, because we showed we can play, but I probably couldn't have come back if we had beaten India. But you know, all jokes aside, putting cricket in the Olympics was one of the high points… I loved connecting with the people of India. Sometimes people think diplomats are just about defence contracts and treaties and negotiations. I love that work… We talked a lot about it, but it was meeting with the group of girls in Jharkhand who dream of coming to America, heard an ambassador for the first time, and who I learned, from the Santali community, like just the the humility of and the gift it is to be able to help them on health and education and other things. The high point was getting in the water Kanya Kumari, or having chai with the soldiers at 17,866 feet in Ladakh in the winter, or students in the Rajasthani desert or the Nagaland jungles. To me, those are the high points. I didn't really have any low points. We had those challenging moments, but they never were tough. They were never depressing. There were never setbacks. I was always amazed — the next day, my Indian friends would pick up the phone, say, what are we doing today to advance this relationship? And by the end of this I got to (visit) 27 states, six out of eight Union Territories. I've seen more of India than I could have dreamt of in a lifetime, and India has absolutely captured me. After LA Mayor, campaign co-chair, and now ambassador, what’s next for Eric Garcetti? I have no idea. One thing I've learned from India is that when you go to the jungle, there is a tradition where you go out, you kind of meditate. I'm looking at living here as a private citizen for three or four months. And now this is the time to reflect. I practice yoga two or three days a week, and one of the things we remind ourselves of is mindfulness… With all due apologies, you cannot be mindful while you're being an ambassador. This job was too much fun and we had too much to do, so we'll see. All I know is that I have to make the world a better place. My heart aches for what's happening in Los Angeles, and I love the idea of exploring a little bit more of India.
