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"Indians like Americans more than Americans like themselves," says US Ambassador to India
At an event organized by the Council on Foreign Relations, Eric Garcetti highlighted the favorable view Indians hold of Americans, contrasting it with domestic perceptions.
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Eric Garcetti is the Joe Biden administration's top diplomat in New Delhi. / X/@ericgarcetti
US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said Americans carry a better image amongst the Indian populace than in their own country, adding that it was a rare phenomenon exclusive only to US-India bilateral relations.
Garcetti was speaking at an event organized by the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington on May.9.
"You have a lot of leaders there who have come worked, been educated here, have an affinity. There's a huge positive polling of Americans. I told the president before the state visit that Americans poll better in India than Americans do in America. They like us more than we like ourselves. That's rare in the world today," Garcetti said during a discussion at the event, adding that Poland is the only other nation that comes close to the phenomenon.
Garcetti also told the audience that he was confident India would remain a vibrant democracy even 10 years from now.
"Ten years from now, India is going to be a vibrant democracy as it is today in terms of free and fair elections," he said. "I one hundred percent believe we can trust this relationship. It's going to be one of the defining relationships of the 21st century, the US and India together."
The US Ambassador also praised India for the revolution in digital payments (UPI) and the mapping of healthcare records on national identity numbers.
"They have a digital stack, they call it, which is an ID, a digital health identity, and a payment system comprising of 140 billion transactions and people who have no access to capital can use it because of very cheap cell phone rates in India, like 90 percent less than what we pay," said Garcetti.
“I am a big believer that India has a pull on you. And I took classes on Indian culture and religion, but the ability to have that foundation even when I didn't keep that up (practice) for 30 years. It's like you never lose those foundational moments," Garcetti spoke about the positive cultural influence India exerts on the world.
Garcetti is the Joe Biden administration's top diplomat in New Delhi.
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