Washington: Top US diplomat attending a special reception accorded to India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar praised his efforts to build up US- India relations over the years, news agency ANI reported.
India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu hosted the reception where top Biden administration officials emphasized on the growing ties between both nations.
Notable personalities who turned at the reception include US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma, President Biden's domestic policy advisor Neera Tanden, among others, according to the report.
Jaishankar addressed the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York during his visit between September 22 and September 30.
Jaishankar met top US officials including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Meanwhile, veteran US diplomat Richard Verma said that India and US are two close friends with shared values, adding that it has staying power ‘with real impact, and that will continue to have an outside influence in the world.’
Verma called Jaishankar as the architect behind the modern US-India relationship, saying’ ‘I have also known (Jaishankar) for a long time over many capacities, and who I can also say, he is the architect of modern US-India relations. We would not be in the strong place that we are today, but for the external affairs minister, your leadership.’
A large number of community members from across US attended the ‘ Colors of Friendship’ event in Washington DC, where Jaishankar stressed on the importance of having ‘people-to-people’ connections for strong bilateral ties.
Biden’s advisor Neera Tandon also said that India and US have people-to-people and community-to-community relationship, adding that Indian American are holding prominent positions throughout the administration.