Washington, DC

On March 20, Ambassador Nirupama Rao hosted a group of Congressional Hispanic Caucus Members for dinner at her residence in Washington D.C.  Those attending included Congressmen Ruben Hinojosa and Silvestre Reyes from Texas, and Congresswoman Grace Napolitano and Congressman Jim Costa from California.

Founded in December 1976, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is among the oldest and most prominent Caucuses in the U.S. Congress.  It aims to address national and international policy issues and the impact they have on the Hispanic community in the U.S. by serving as a forum for the Hispanic Members of the U.S. Congress to coalesce around a collective legislative agenda.

In her welcome remarks, partly delivered in Spanish, Ambassador Rao highlighted the importance of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus as a representative body for an important group of constituents in the United States that showcased the plurality of the American society.  She described the Hispanic Community as an important partner as India’s relations with the United States became increasingly multifaceted and multidimensional.

Ambassador Rao also gave the Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus a brief overview of the present state of the global strategic partnership between India and the United States, highlighting their shared values and converging interests, and drawing reference to the vast canvas of bilateral cooperation.  She described the strong bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress, including among the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, as a major driving force in realizing the qualitative transformation of India-U.S. relations in recent years.

Speaking on behalf of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressman Silvestre Reyes thanked Ambassador Rao for her hospitality and for organizing this interaction between the Embassy of India and the Caucus.  He highlighted the shared values of democracy and pluralism between India and the United States, and described India as a very important partner of the United States. Congressman Silvestre echoed Ambassador Rao’s observation that the India-U.S. strategic partnership offers a pillar of stability amidst many uncertainties -- political, security and economic -- facing the world today.  On behalf of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, he expressed keenness to stay in close touch with Ambassador Rao and invited her for a lunch meeting with the Caucus at Capitol Hill at early mutual convenience in order to build upon this first interaction.  Ambassador Rao accepted the invitation.

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