Embassy Archives What's New/Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE - Senate India Caucus Welcomes Ambassador Nirupama Rao

Washington, DC

The Senate India Caucus held an event at the Capitol Hill on November 29 to formally welcome Ambassador Nirupama Rao on her taking over as India's new Ambassador to the United States. The event was hosted by the co-chairs of the Caucus -- Senator John Cornyn of Texas and Senator Mark Warner of Virginia.

The event was attended by a number of U.S. Senators, senior members of the Administration, a large segment of the Indian American community from across the United States, as well as by members of the media, the think tank community and academia.

In their welcome remarks, both Senators Cornyn and Warner spoke warmly of Ambassador Rao's contribution in promoting India-U.S. relations during her previous assignment as India's Foreign Secretary. Expressing confidence in the future of India-U.S. relations, they highlighted the "true partnership" and the expanding cooperation between the " world's oldest and largest democracies" in bilateral, regional and global context, based on shared values and converging interests.

Ambassador Rao, in her remarks, thanked Senator Cornyn and Senator Warner for their welcome and for their leadership of the Caucus.  She noted the important contributions made by the Senate India Caucus to bring the people and governments of the two countries closer, and described the bipartisan support for India-U.S. relations in the U.S. Congress as a source of strength for the India-U.S. strategic partnership that now spans almost all dimensions of human endeavour.

Senior Senator from Massachusetts and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman also spoke during the event. Senator Kerry noted his admiration for India's critical role in the conduct of global affairs, its vibrant democracy, and global leadership. He described India as an important partner of the U.S.  In her remarks, Under Secretary Sherman conveyed to Ambassador Rao greetings from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who was travelling abroad, and wished her all success in her new assignment.

The Senate India Caucus is a bipartisan group currently comprising forty members of the U.S. Senate. It was founded in 2004 by the then Senator from New York, and now Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and Senator John Cornyn. At the time of its formation, it was the only country-specific Caucus in the Senate and today, is the largest Caucus of its kind in the Senate.