America
Three lawmakers to join Obama on India trip
Three Democratic lawmakers,
including the lone Indian-American Congressman Ami Bera, whose parents
moved to the US from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of
Gujarat in the 1950s, will join President Barack Obama on his India
trip.
Bera, co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and
India Americans, will be joined by his predecessor Joe Crowley, who is
currently vice chair of the Democratic Caucus and Senator Mark Warner,
co-chair of Senate India caucus.
"As the son of Indian
immigrants, I am extremely honoured to be a part of this historic trip
to India with the president," said Bera.
"Prime Minister Modi's
trip to the United States last year was a turning point in relations for
our countries, and now this trip will be an important opportunity to
continue to move the US-India relationship forward," he said.
"As
the oldest and largest democracies in the world, our countries have
many common interests and I hope this will be another step toward
realizing the full potential of the US-India partnership," Bera added.
Bera became India Caucus co-chair at the beginning of the current 114th Congress.
Formed
in 1993, the India Caucus is a bipartisan group of members dedicated to
championing strong ties between the US and India and supporting the
Indian-American community. It is the largest country caucus in Congress.
"The
principles of India's democratic constitution serve as a shining
example for the world, and what better time for the President of the
United States to make this historic visit than to join India in
celebrating its Republic Day," said Crowley.
"It is an honour to
join President Obama on this trip and I look forward to robust
discussions on how we can open the next chapter in US-India relations,"
he said.
"I strongly believe that the United States-Indian
relationship should and will serve as a key building block of US foreign
policy in the decades ahead.
"Working together, the United States and India can be a transformational force in meeting global challenges," Crowley said.
Warner had announced last week that he too would be travelling to India as part of the presidential delegation.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])