Can Indian-American Presence in Biden Camp Foster Goodwill Between US and India?

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Can Indian-American Presence in Biden Camp Foster Goodwill Between US and India?

Long before he was declared President-elect, Joe Biden had promised that if he were successful he would rely on the Indian-American diaspora for better governance. Sticking to his words, Biden nominated at least 20 Indian-Americans, including 13 women, to head major departments in his administration.

Despite choosing a record number of Indian-Americans as part of his administration, Joe Biden, 46th US President, has said that he will keep “American interests” in mind when dealing with India, which will mark a departure from his predecessor Donald Trump’s approach, according to experts who say that policy makers both in India and the US are eager to know what Washington’s policy towards India will be.

The professor was commenting on the fact that President Biden has chosen 20 Indian-Americans to join his administration, including Neera Tanden as Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget and Dr Vivek Murthy as 21st US Surgeon General. Vanita Gupta is Associate Attorney General and Uzra Zeya as Under-Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights.

On Thursday, Jen Psaki, the White House Press Secretary, while talking about Vice-President Kamala Harris, who is herself an Indian American, said that the new administration will continue to “respect and value the long, bipartisan and successful relationship between leaders in India and the United States.”

Policy watchers in New Delhi are expecting stronger ties with the Biden administration than they have had so far, as the stock of Indian-Americans has been rising since 2020 with four Indian-Americans re-elected to Congress and 12 more elected to state legislative positions.

In contrast, not many Indian-Americans were part of the Trump administration. In fact, most positions were held by white Americans although, two important personnel had Indian roots: Nikki Haley – the US Ambassador to the United Nations – and Seema Verma who was one of Trump’s close confidants on healthcare and was part of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

Around 30 Indian-Americans held important positions spread over State, Treasury, Defence and Commerce departments during Barack Obama’s time as president, during which Biden served as vice-president.

Sourse: sputniknews.com

Can Indian-American Presence in Biden Camp Foster Goodwill Between US and India?

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