NEW DELHI: After a wait of over two years, India will have a full-fledged Ambassador from the US. US Vice President on Friday swore in her fellow Californian, Eric Garcetti, to be the next US Ambassador to India.
“Ambassador Garcetti is a committed public servant and will play a critical role in strengthening our partnership with the people of India,” said Harris in a Twitter post shortly after the swearing-in ceremony.
The US State Department’s South and Central Asian Affairs also congratulated Garcetti and hoped the step would further grow the US-India partnership, “one of the most consequential in the world”.
India has already welcomed US Senate’s confirmation of Garcetti and said it looks forward to working with him to take forward the multifaceted bilateral relations.
“We welcome the confirmation of Eric Garcetti as the US Ambassador to India. We look forward to working with him to take forward the multifaceted bilateral relations,” said External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi at a media briefing.
Garcetti was not confirmed for two years due to concerns by some lawmakers that he had not adequately handled allegations of sexual assault and harassment against a former senior adviser.
“This has become a grave national security concern of mine not to have an ambassador in place. Our strategic partners wouldn’t conceive of going two years into the establishment of a government or administration and failing to place their person in the role,” said Republican Senator Todd Young who had backed Garcetti.
Garcetti’s nomination was also welcomed by a large number of politicians, entrepreneurs as well as India-American businessmen working the Indo-US trade circuit.
Mayor of Los Angeles since 2013, Garcetti served for 12 years as an Intelligence Officer in the US Navy Reserve Component including a stint with the Pacific Fleet and the Defence Intelligence Agency.
He was also a City Council member for a dozen years and oversaw the busiest container port in the Western Hemisphere, the largest municipal utility in the country, and one of the busiest airports in the world. He led LA’s successful bid to return the summer Olympic Games to American soil for the first time in three decades.
He currently chairs LA Metro, the country’s second-busiest transit agency, which is building or extending 15 new transit lines, and shifting to an all-electric fleet, said a White House brief.