Time to confirm Ambassador to India, says Congressman Ro Khanna
Darpan News Desk IANS, 15 Nov, 2022 12:46 PM
It is time to confirm an Ambassador to India to strengthen the critical relationship between the two countries, top Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna said.
"The US needs a strong defence and strategic partnership with India especially in the face of escalating aggression from China," Khanna wrote in a tweet, which was in response to a Washington Post op-ed.
"Two years into this administration, it's time to confirm an ambassador to India to strengthen this critical relationship & our national security," Khanna tweeted.
This is the longest period since 1947 that the US Embassy in Delhi has been without an envoy.
The op-ed by Ronak Desai, says that the inability to fill this vital post is just just one small part of a broader failure.
"By failing to confirm Garcetti, politicians in the Senate have deprived the United States of an essential instrument for shaping our relationship with this indispensable partner. The cascade of international crises upending the international order underscores the importance of preserving and strengthening foreign relations with India," Desai wrote in the Washington Post.
The position of the US envoy in New Delhi has been lying vacant since President Joe Biden assumed office in January 2021, as Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's nomination is still in limbo.
Republican Senators from Iowa, Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley have placed a hold on Garcetti's nomination.
The President's pick is also facing resistance from a few Democrats "over his professed lack of knowledge about sexual assault and harassment allegations against a top adviser", as reported by Politico.
The Biden administration named diplomat Elizabeth Jones as Charge d'Affaires ad interim in its Embassy in India -- the sixth interim envoy in 19 months since January 2021.
Before her, Patricia A. Lacina was the Charge d'Affaires at the embassy.
Experts say the absence of a full-time envoy in such an important country could prove detrimental to US interests in the region.
Kenneth Juster, who was the last US ambassador to India from 2017 until early 2021, described the delay as "less than ideal".
Singh, 41, is the founder and President of 'Turbans 4 Australia' -- a charity organisation that assists people facing financial hardship, food insecurity, homelessness and those impacted by natural calamities.
Indian-Americans Vinod Khosla, Romesh Wadhwani and Rakesh Gangwal made it to the Forbes 2022 list of 400 wealthiest Americans with Zscaler CEO Jay Chaudhry leading the pack with a net worth of $8.2 billion. Overall, Tesla's Elon Musk earned the top spot for the first time, unseating former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who had held the top spot for four consecutive years.
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Narasimhan joins the growing ranks of Indian-descent CEOs heading leading US corporate giants such as Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Sundar Pichai of Alphabet, Shantanu Narayen of Adobe, Punit Renjen of Deloitte and Raj Subramaniam of FedEx. Major former Desi CEOs include Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo and Ajay Banga of Mastercard.
They have many accolades and achievements in their kitty such as performing for President Obama at the White House, they have also been featured in the major-motion Hollywood movie Pitch Perfect 2, as well as performing at the 2014 IIFA awards and the 2018 Gaana Music Festival.
She will also become the President's chief advisor for science and technology and a co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. The White House credited Prabhakar with a role long before the pandemic in paving the way for Covid vaccines that use mRNA technology.
.jpg "Biden appoints Indian-American scientist to cabinet")