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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline JANUARY 31, 2025 | The Indian Eye 18

US opens Consulate in Bengaluru, India

to Follow with Consulate in Los Angeles

OUR BUREAU
Bengaluru

xternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar joined
US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti for
Ethe opening of the US Consulate in Ban-
galore. Hailing the step as an important moment
in the India-US ties, Jaishankar also announced
that India will soon be opening its consulate in Los
Angeles.

“Bengaluru is such an important place, it
was for me an imperative that there is a

permanent resident presence of American
diplomats this time...It has been something
long in waiting...I told him (US Ambassador
to India Eric Garcetti) you get Bengaluru

done and I’ll get you Los Angeles done,
which is his hometown. So, we will be open-
ing our consulate in Los Angeles also. A
consulate serves many purposes. A big part External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar exchanges greetings with US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti as Karnataka Deputy

of it is to facilitate travel,” the EAM said. Chief Minister DK Shivakumar looks on during the inauguration ceremony of the US Consulate, in Bengaluru (ANI)

While addressing the gathering, Jaishankar education and research sector between the two ucation presence in this region. Today, the formal
highlighted several aspects of the India-US ties countries. “I hope to see collaborative campuses, opening of this consulate is one more sign that we
and said that the opening of the consulate was exchange of students and a stronger American ed- are overcoming the hesitations of history.”
long due.
“Today, it is within our grasp, within the realm
of possibility, that we realise the potential of In-
dia-US relations. It is important that Bengaluru
too, realise its potential in the relationship. As a
country, today we are encouraging the opening
of more embassies in the capital. It’s part of our
deeper engagement with the world. But along with
that, we are also encouraging more embassies to
open consulates. I hope that there will be more
occasions where more countries will open more
consulates in Bengaluru. It would serve India’s
interests, Karnataka’s interests and Bengaluru’s
interests better”, Jaishankar said.
Speaking about the expanse of the India-US
ties, Jaishankar remarked, “Today, when we look
at all the possibilities before us in an era of AI,
EVs, space and drones, our relationships will be
heavily based on technology, even more so than
before. It will have a much bigger space compo-
nent because the space domain is just beginning
to open up. Defence is a crucial area. Two decades
ago, there were virtually no American weapons in
our inventory, very little defence collaboration.
Today we fly the C17s, the C130s, the Chinooks,
the Apaches.”
He also highlighted the importance of the

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