New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah met US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor in Delhi Thursday. The rare meeting came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump’s bilateral on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France.
“He (Shah) has hardly met any foreign diplomat after he became the home minister. He did meet a few ambassadors one to one when he was BJP president but not in the capacity of a home minister. Recently he also met Rabi Lamicchane,” said a source in the BJP.
According to government sources, Shah had met the then US Ambassador Kenneth Juster after assuming the charge of Union Home Minister in 2019. He last visited a foreign country in 2006. Meanwhile, his predecessor Rajnath Singh, who is now Union defence minister, had visited several countries as home minister.
In 2019, Shah reportedly also met with the Director General of Bangladesh Border Guard, Major General Mohammad Shafeenul Islam, Bhutan Foreign Minister Tandi Dorji, Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock, and the Singapore Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam, on separate occasions.
In 2023, he had held discussions on counterterrorism, drug trafficking and security with the then US Ambassador Eric Garcetti.
Shah had earlier this month met a Nepalese delegation led by Rabi Lamichhane, chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), in Delhi. Soon after, he took to X to emphasise that “both sides expressed their firm resolve to work together for enhancing the special ties between India and Nepal”.
A senior BJP leader told ThePrint that in his previous capacity as BJP president too, Shah had only met a few ambassadors one-to-one and usually does not meet with foreign delegations either.
ThePrint had earlier reported that on the sidelines of the third ‘No Money for Terror’ conference hosted in New Delhi in November 2022, Shah held meetings with Maldives Home Minister Imran Abdulla, the then Nigerian Minister of the Interior Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, and the president of the Financial Action Task Force, T. Raja Kumar. He also met the Maldives home minister in February 2020.
The Shah-Gor meet
“Met U.S. Ambassador to India, Mr. Sergio Gor in New Delhi today. Had a detailed discussion on further strengthening cooperation between India and the U.S. in the area of security, particularly in counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics,” Shah posted on social media platform X after the meeting.
Shah further wrote that a detailed discussion was held on strengthening India-US security cooperation, especially in counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics.
“Under the leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, India is firmly committed to advancing the India–U.S. Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and ensuring that the people of both nations benefit from the bilateral relationship,” he added.
Gor also took to X and said that the discussions revolved around protecting people from narcotics and illicit drugs and securing borders.
“Had an excellent meeting with Honorable Home Minister @AmitShah. We had a fruitful discussion on enhancing collaboration to combat terrorism, shield our people from narcotics and illicit drugs, secure our borders, and jointly bring criminals to justice in both nations,” he posted.
Gor met Shah shortly after arriving in India from the G7 Summit in Evian, France.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)