US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti on Tuesday highlighted the close cooperation between his country and India in various fields including technology, trade, environment and space. He said President Joe Biden told him that India was the most important country in the world to him.
Delivering the keynote address at the Indiaspora G20 forum, Garcetti said that Indian Americans constitute six percent of the taxpayers in the United States.
“He (President Biden) told me, when he asked me to come here to serve, he said, this is the most important country in the world to me, something that I think no American president has ever uttered in the history of both of us. Indian Americans constitute six percent of taxpayers in the US,” the ambassador was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Garcetti’s comments come ahead of Biden’s visit to India next month when he will attend the G20 leaders’ summit in Delhi.
The ambassador said the two countries cooperated together in the space sector and stressed that “even the sky is not the limit”. He described the US and India as two “powerful powers” in the world.
“From technology to commerce, environment to women’s empowerment, small business to space, we used to say the sky is the limit. But now we are working together in space, and even the sky is not the limit. From the sea floor to the sky, the United States and India are a good force and a strong force to move this world forward,” Garcetti said.
Talking about his “dream” of living in India, the ambassador said he had always wanted to come to the country, stay in Bodh Gaya and do a Buddhist studies course, ANI reported.
But politics got in the way. I was elected to the student council and I said I would serve. So my India dream died, or so I thought. But there’s a curious way to connect people and dreams in the universe, and now all of a sudden, I’m living that dream here,” he said.
Recently, Garcetti completed 100 days as US Ambassador to India. He posted a video on his X handle, which showed glimpses of his visit to different states of India, meeting political leaders and people.
In a tweet, the ambassador said he is excited to promote the partnership between India and the US during his tenure.
