Prominent guests, including Biswal, attend Republic Day reception.
Global India Newswire
WASHINGTON, DC: The United States has reaffirmed its close ties and growing bilateral cooperation with India at a Republic Day function hosted by the new Indian Ambassador to the United States S. Jaishankar and his wife, Kyoko, at the Embassy Residence here, on Thursday.
Heather Higginbottom, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, and Nisha Desai Biswal, the Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, were prominent guests at the reception, the first hosted by the ambassador since he took over his position last month, in the middle of the Khobragade imbroglio.
The meet was also attended also by a number of other high-level officials from the Departments of State and Defense, as well as several key foreign policy experts and prominent members of the Indian American community.
Jaishankar made some introductory remarks, and Higginbottom outlined the US-India joint endeavors in the past, which have enhanced the quality of life for millions.
“Our space cooperation has given Indian farmers better weather forecasts, our homeland security dialogue has made both our countries safer from terrorist attacks,” she said. “Our health initiatives have enhanced our ability to detect dangerous pathogens that threaten all our people. Our works on energy and climate issues have generated billions of dollars in funding for key initiatives. Our close cooperation on education brings faculty and researchers from India to US universities and facilitates scholarly exchanges. And our strong trade and investment ties fight poverty and drive growth in both countries.”
Guests at the reception included writer Manil Suri, National Press Club President Myron Belkind and foreign policy gurus Shuja Nawaz of the Atlantic Center, Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation, Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and Alyssa Ayres of the Council on Foreign Relations, among others.