India’s role on global stage continues to grow: US

Washington DC: India’s role on the global stage continues to grow and the India-US ties are one of the consequential relationships, a senior State Department Official has said.

Speaking to community leaders and local ethnic Indian media reporters during a trip to Silicon Valley this week, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Nancy Izzo Jackson also said that India’s presidency of the G20 will help the country intensify its growth in every sphere. India has taken over the Presidency of the G20 on December 1, last year.

”As we look at India’s Presidency of G-20, we know that India’s role on the global stage continues to grow. And so does the US-India relationship,” Jackson said.

The interaction was organised by Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a member of President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, wherein a visiting team of senior State Department officials met eminent Indian American community members to brief them on the status of India-US ties, the importance of the Diaspora in this and address their questions.

During the interaction, Jackson highlighted the role that India is playing at the international level especially in its capacity as president of G-20 nations and the steps being taken by the State Department in reducing the visa wait time in India.

Among other senior officials who were part of the State Department team to the Silicon Valley were Karen Klimowski, USAID Deputy Mission Director for India, Jennifer Sudweeks, Division Chief for Outreach and Inquiries Bureau of Consular, Affairs office of Visa Services, Jenn Miller, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Domestic Outreach and Partnerships and Radhika Prabhu, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Women’s Economic Empowerment.

”Such an initiative by the State Department was very much welcomed and appreciated by the community,” Bhutoria said after the event adding that the community in Silicon Valley got first-hand information on India-US relationship and an opportunity to ask direct questions to senior officials from the State Department.

“Every day, US-India benefits from the growing innovation and opportunities made possible via our people-to-people ties. Heard from Bay Area’s Indian-American innovators, educators, physicians, businesspeople & civil society leaders about what more we can do to support their work,” the South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department said in a tweet.

Responding to questions, the State Department officials explained the steps being taken by the US Government on various aspects of visas including reducing the wait time and launching a pilot project in the next few months for stamping certain categories of H-1B visas inside the country.