A light-hearted exchange between US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal over their friendship has triggered a political row, with Opposition leaders taking exception to the envoy’s remark that those unable to reach him could approach Goyal to “arrange” it.Speaking at an event, Gor described Goyal and his wife as “dear friends” and singled out the Commerce Minister among his favourite Cabinet colleagues, alongside External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.“Since I have arrived in New Delhi, I have two favourite Ministers. One is Honourable Dr Jaishankar and the second one is my friend Piyush Goyal. So you have somebody who cares deeply about the relationship between the United States and India,” Gor said.He then turned to Goyal’s role in facilitating access to the US Embassy.“Piyush and his wife have truly become dear friends. So a lot of you here have asked me, as I was walking in, about different items related to the US Embassy. If you can’t get a hold of me, reach out to Piyush and he’ll arrange it,” Gor said.Goyal responded with a joke about the possible consequences of the envoy publicly offering him as a point of contact.“I’m now worried to call you a friend. If you make such comments, I’ll have half of them at my office looking for visa appointments in the US,” he said.Goyal has previously credited Gor with playing a “very important role” in the conclusion of the framework for the India-US interim trade agreement, describing the envoy as a friend and well-wisher of the bilateral relationship.The exchange, however, drew criticism from Opposition circles. Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra took exception to Gor’s reference to Goyal as someone who could help arrange appointments with the US Ambassador.“Shameful that India’s Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal been relegated to private secretary fixing appointments for the US Ambassador to India,” Moitra said in a social media post.Former diplomat KC Singh also questioned the optics of the remark, saying an Indian Cabinet Minister should not be portrayed as a facilitator for access to the US Ambassador.“So an Indian Cabinet Minister is being equated with the Ambassador’s private secretary for fixing appointments or getting feedback. What’s India being reduced to?” Singh said.The remarks come against the backdrop of Goyal’s central role in India-US trade negotiations and Gor’s increasingly visible engagement with Indian policymakers as New Delhi and Washington work to deepen their economic ties.