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Community Corner

Indian Ambassador Calls for Intensified U.S.-India Cooperation

Indian diplomat Meera Shankar's talk at the India Community Center highlighted the growing ties between the U.S. and India.

Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar spoke Thursday evening about the strengthened Indo-U.S. relations, at the India Community Center (ICC) in Milpitas.

Shankar shared new broad-based collaborations being pursued in various sectors like energy, education and agriculture.

“The discussions between our leaders have really left the sense that this is going to be an indispensable partnership for the 21st century and building peace, stability and prosperity in the world,” said Shankar.

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She emphasized India’s role in building peace and security in the broader Asian region. As an indication of its widening diplomatic influence, India was elected in January to be a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the next two years.

Shankar indicated their first rounds of consultations went off “extremely well” and that President Obama’s backing of India’s permanent U.N. Security Council seat has only bolstered Indo-U.S. relations.

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“Within our own region, there is the challenge of stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” said Shankar. “It is a common challenge, and we share the objective of bringing forth stability, prosperity and moderation to this region.” Joint projects are being initiated to increase women empowerment, police training, and agriculture in those regions.

The speech was addressed to a crowd of nearly 100 people, many of whom were Indian-Americans familiar with the ICC. But the event also attracted some newcomers.

“I’m not actually a member of the ICC, but I’ve always been looking for an event that I could go to, and I am very interested in Indian culture and international politics,” said Jaqueline Curtis, 40, of her first-time visit to the ICC.

Council members Anu Natarajan of Fremont and Jamie McLeod of Santa Clara were also in attendance, hoping to hear how they could strengthen Indo-U.S. ties locally.

“There is a very unique relationship that Silicon Valley has had with India,” said McLeod. “A lot of people from India have come over and really fueled the economic engine of Silicon Valley through our technology sector to tremendous benefit … I think we both stand to benefit greatly from keeping that relationship strong.”

Trade and investment have become key drivers of the bilateral relationship. Trade between both countries in 2010 grew more than 30 percent to $48.75 billion in 2010 from 2009, according to Shankar. In 2008, the figure was $43 billion. Shankar indicated the trade relationship is growing in both directions.

“I think there’s a realization that India and the U.S. are competing on an equal footing globally, and the relationship is changing to make that an equal partnership as well,” said Natarajan.

Some of the participants wanted to voice their concerns about tightening of regulations surrounding H1B visas and Indian passports. Himgauri Chaudhari, a U.S. resident since 1969, wanted to address the Ambassador about the problems she was having getting a surrender certificate for her lost Indian passport.

“I am hoping the ambassador will do something,” Chaudari said. “I think relations between the two countries have improved. I am sure these lectures help vent some of the anger people have. It helps.” 

Shankar briefly alluded to the issue, saying the Indian government is continuing its work to clarify the OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) scheme.

Energy is one of the big partnerships being reviewed. A new area being explored within energy is shale gas, Shankar said. Taking cues from U.S. exploration into shale gas, India hopes to increase its energy security and independence by what looks to be big reserves of shale gas in the region.

Nuclear energy cooperation with the civil nuclear deal between India and the United States is also strong, even in the wake of the Japan disaster. Shankar addressed those concerns saying that India doesn’t “have the luxury of ruling out any source of energy which will enable us to meet our energy needs in a way that is responsible, and which also contributes to our energy independence.”

Safety audits of nuclear plants are scheduled in India, said Shankar. Two sites are being planned in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh with U.S. cooperation. 

Some audience members wondered how strengthened ties could be achieved with widespread corruption still rampant in India.

“It’s an issue on the national agenda,” said Shankar. “We’ve seen that when we make systemic improvements there are significant improvements which take place in reducing the scope for corruption,” said Shankar.

Overall, audience members found the talk informative. 

"I think she is a very impressive woman," said Deepka Lalwani, founder of the Bay Area-based Indian Business & Professional Women.

"She was honest and well-spoken," said Kanwal Chaudhary, a realtor. "I was really impressed by her speech and the facts presented."

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