Washington: India’s envoy to the US Navtej Sarna has met Donald Trump at the Oval Office of the White House here for the first time since the Republican leader’s inauguration as the US President.
Trump met all the new foreign ambassadors, including Sarna, yesterday and had individual photos with them. This was the first meeting of the top Indian diplomat with Trump after he was sworn in as the US President on January 20.
A 1980 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Sarna arrived in the US a few days before the November 8 presidential elections.
Post-elections, Sarna and a few other foreign diplomats could not meet the then US President Barack Obama during the transition of power at the White House.
Before leaving the office, Obama had issued an executive order formally credentialing all the new ambassadors, including Sarna, so as to facilitate them to attend the swearing in ceremony of Trump.
Spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs from 2002 to 2008, Sarna has previously been India’s Ambassador to Israel and the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Since arriving in the US, Sarna has met scores of top American lawmakers, engaged the community across the country and interacted with the think-tanks.
Yesterday, he hosted a reception for National Governors Association that was attended by Governors from 25 states.
PTI