World News | India-US ties ‘defining partnership’ for this century: Richard Verma

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 (PTI) Former US ambassador to India Richard Verma told lawmakers that the relationship between India and the US is a “defining partnership” in the 21st century and urged the Senate to confirm the next person to go to New Delhi. Envoy the earliest.

A staunch advocate of deepening India-US relations, Verma played a key role in getting the civilian nuclear deal passed in Congress. He was sworn in as US ambassador to India in 2014, becoming the first Indian-American ever to hold the post. He served as the US ambassador to India from 2014 to 2017.

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“I still believe this is the defining partnership of the century. The relationship is so important in so many ways, and having a senior official on the ground representing the president makes a big difference,” said Verma, undersecretary of state for management and resources. told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his confirmation hearing.

Verma is responding to confirmation of the next U.S. ambassador to India, a post that has been vacant for more than two years.

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“I think everyone wants to be able to understand the urgency of getting people out there as quickly as possible. I would say it’s also a morale issue for the team. But more importantly, just fulfilling the president’s priorities,” Verma said.

Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Chris van Hollen emphasized the importance of the Senate immediately confirming an ambassador to represent the United States in New Delhi.

Last July, US President Joe Biden nominated Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as US ambassador to India. But Democrats have been unable to gather enough support in the Senate after one of his top staffers was accused of sexual assault.

Responding to a question about the current visa waiting period for the US diplomatic mission in India, Verma noted that it was “too long”.

India is one of the very few countries that saw a significant increase in US visa applications after coronavirus-related travel restrictions were lifted.

India is increasingly concerned about long waiting periods for first-time visa applicants, especially those applying for the B1 (business) and B2 (tourism) categories. Last October, the waiting period for first-time B1/B2 visa applicants in India was close to three years.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)