ANUSH NARASIMHAN
SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON, DC, JULY 17
The Indian diaspora in the US has welcomed the recent announcement of the Biden administration about the nomination of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to the post of US Ambassador to India.
Garcetti, a co-chair for the Biden campaign, was considered for a Cabinet post. Garcetti’s term will end in December 2022. This is his second term as Mayor of the country’s second largest city since 2013.
Indiaspora, a nonprofit organization of global Indian diaspora leaders, expressed enthusiasm for the Biden administration’s announcement of the nomination Eric Garcetti to the post of US Ambassador to India.
As the Mayor of Los Angeles, the US second-largest city, Garcetti would bring valuable political and administrative experience to the role. A close political confidante of President Biden who served as a Co-chair of his campaign in 2020, Garcetti also would have the President’s ear.
Reacting to the announcement, the founder of Indiaspora ,MR Rangaswami, a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur and investor, said, “We are excited that President Biden has nominated a reputed leader who has proven himself on several fronts,”
“It speaks volumes to the importance of the US.-India relationship that a close and trusted ally of President Biden may be America’s point person in Delhi,” he added.
Garcetti has a range of international experience, having lived and worked in Asia as well as Europe and Africa. A Rhodes’ Scholar, he appointed Los Angeles’ first Deputy Mayor for International Affairs, expanding L.A.’s global ties to bring more jobs, economic opportunity, culture, education, and visitors to the city, according to Los Angeles’ government website.
“Mayor Garcetti recognizes the importance of international cooperation and how to bring different actors together on the world stage,” said Executive Director of Indiaspora, Sanjeev Joshipura, speaking to Garcetti’s accomplishments as Mayor of Los Angeles, which include bringing the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games to the US for the first time in more than 30 years, as well as leading an effort of more than 400 fellow mayors across America to adopt the Paris Climate agreement.
“We appreciate the administration’s recent recognition of Indiaspora’s, and more broadly, the diaspora’s role in serving as a bridge between the US and India. The diaspora’s importance in this regard is only poised to grow, and we enthusiastically welcome President Biden’s nomination of Mayor Garcetti to serve as the next U.S. Ambassador to India,” said Joshipura, in a statement.
Recently, the State Department had organized a discussion hosted by the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs’ Senior Advisor, Ervin Massinga, and featuring remarks by Vice-President Kamala Harris. Senior Advisor Massinga and USAID’s Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia, Anjali Kaur, provided an overview of US government relief efforts and a panel of Indian American leaders including Lata Krishnan and MR Rangaswami, discussed the diaspora-led efforts to address the current emergency and how Americans can contribute to these efforts.
(Anush Narasimhan is an intern for NE and is an eighth-grader in Kennedy Middle School, Cupertino.)
