Political India: Engaging America

The Senate India Caucus, headed by John Cornyn, Republican of Texas and Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, welcomed Nirupama Rao, Indian Ambassador to the United States, to Washington and called for an even closer bilateral relationship in economic areas.

Speaking at a ceremony at the Senate Dirksen Building on Capitol Hill, the two Senators praised Ms. Rao’s credentials as a seasoned diplomat even as they noted that they would be writing a letter to President Barack Obama pressing for greater momentum on a Bilateral Investment Treaty.

Addressing the gathering Ms. Rao, who assumed her role in September, underscored the role of the Indian-American community, with over 2.7 million members, in fostering closer ties between the two countries.

Touching upon the range of areas where India and the U.S. are expanding their cooperation Ms. Rao said, “Newer areas of cooperation such as nuclear energy, high technology and clean energy sources are making our partnership more rewarding.”

Cooperation in the nuclear sector was also a subject addressed by Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman.

Senator Kerry said, “India’s remarkable sense of responsibility with respect to the stewardship of nuclear power, even though the [Nuclear] Non Proliferation Treaty has always been something outside its guideposts, has nevertheless been exemplary and stands as an example to near-neighbours and others in the world about where the future really lies with respect to the exercise of that responsibility.”