Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India] January 17 (ANI): The US and Indian governments today dedicated a new US consulate site in Bengaluru, an official statement by the US Embassy said.
Together, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti dedicated the site of the US consulate, which is intended to become the fifth US consulate in India.
The consulate will expand on the more than thirty-year presence of the US government in Bengaluru by increasing our diplomatic engagement on economic and political issues, conducting public diplomacy and people-to-people engagements, and augmenting existing US and Foreign Commercial Service capabilities. Initially, consular services will continue to be performed at the US Consulate in Chennai and other US diplomatic posts in India, the statement added.
Garcetti and Jaishankar, joined by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, announced their efforts to fulfill a commitment made by US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Prime Minister’s State Visit to Washington, DC, in June 2023.
The initiative to expand the US presence in Bengaluru will broaden and deepen the long-standing ties between the United States and the state of Karnataka and build upon long-standing diplomatic engagement and strategic partnership in Karnataka, as per the statement.
The state is home to nearly 700 US companies and tens of thousands of US citizens who live, visit, study, and work in Karnataka – creating jobs in both the United States and India. It is also the center of rapidly expanding collaboration in space, highlighted by the planned launches this year of the jointly developed NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite and of a US mission to bring NASA-trained Indian astronauts to the International Space Station.
Speaking at the dedication ceremony, Ambassador Garcetti said, “Our relationship truly extends from the seabed to the stars and nowhere is that truer than here in Bengaluru. The innovation and entrepreneurship of this state – from semiconductors to space – is matched only by Silicon Valley in my home state of California. I’m so proud to dedicate our new consulate site and announce the expansion of the collaboration between the American people and the citizens of Karnataka.”
Expressing optimism about the future of the bilateral relationship, Minister for External Affairs, Jaishankar stated, “I do believe today it is within our grasp, within the realm of possibility that we realize more fully the potential of India -US relationship… I see a great future for India and the United States, and I think, in that future, obviously Bengaluru will also have a salient part,” as per the statement.
While speaking at the event, the statement said, Shivakumar shared his perspective saying, “This is not just an opening of the diplomatic mission, but a powerful symbol of the ties between the United States and India, particularly with Karnataka, a state that has been long at the heart of India’s growth and innovation.”
Bengaluru is the sister city of San Francisco, California, and Cleveland, Ohio, and a key link with US defence, technology, and aerospace companies.
The US government first established an office in Bengaluru in 1993 with the opening of its Commercial Service post in the city. (ANI)
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