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NORTH AmERIcAN Newsline AUGUST 06, 2021 | The Indian Eye 26
rasHad HussaIn rIcHard verma
Biden names ambassador- Former envoy sees india leading
at-large for international the world in 2030
religious Freedom
irst ever Indian American US ambassador to India says two
top democracies can do much together. Describing India-US
Frelationship as “the most consequential relationship of this
century”, Richard Verma, the first ever Indian-American US en-
voy to India, has said it was now time for it to deliver.
resident Joe Biden on Friday announced his intent to nom- The modern US-India relationship was quite young, he said in
inate Rashad Hussain as Ambassador-at-Large for Inter- his commencement address Monday at Jindal University School of
Pnational Religious Freedom and head of the State Depart- Banking and Finance on ‘Driving Shared Prosperity — A 21st Cen-
ment’s Office of International Religious Freedom. He will succeed tury Priority for US-India Ties’.
Sam Brownback, a former Kansas governor and U.S. senator from “We mark the start of this era with President (Bill) Clinton’s visit
the state. to India in the year 2000. It was a breakthrough visit after decades
Hussain is currently director for Partnerships and Global En- of being somewhat distant, and even at times, estranged,” Verma
gagement at the National Security Council. If the U.S. Senate con- told students of the Sonepat, India, based institution. Asserting that
firms him, the Wyoming-born Hussain will become the first Indian it was now time for the relationship to deliver, he said, “We can no
American and first Muslim to serve in the position. longer look decades into the future. The time to deliver results for
Hussain, 41, is the first Muslim to be nominated to serve as the our people is now – it’s today.”
Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. “To- “That’s a big challenge, but it’s also exciting, for us here in America,
day’s announcement underscores the President’s commitment to and for all of you in India, especially as you start out on your studies
build an Administration that looks like America and reflects peo- and then careers,” said, Verma, currently Executive Vice President
ple of all faiths,” the White House said in a press release. & Global Head (Public Policy & Regulatory Affairs) at Mastercard.
A veteran of the Obama administration, Hussain served as a “The reason I care about this subject so much and want to talk
Special Envoy and Coordinator for Strategic Counterterrorism to you about it today is that I do think this is the most consequential
Communications from February 2015 to January 2017. In that role, relationship of this century. We can do so much together,” he added.
he facilitated, on behalf of the United States, the expansion of “We can do that. We are not there yet, but can we get there,” Ver-
global engagement and partnerships in order to counteract violent ma said recalling how he first-hand witnessed the picture of India on
extremism. Prior to that, he served as America’s Special Envoy to a dramatic rise when he travelled to every Indian state. “It is why I
the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). am so excited for all of you. You have the world at your fingertips,”
Before that, Hussain worked as a Deputy Associate Counsel he said. “Your country will have a leading seat in international in-
to Obama, focusing on national security, the fields of science and stitutions, your businesses will continue to power economic growth
technology and news media. and innovations globally, and all of you can choose what role you
In addition to Hussain, Biden named three other individuals want to play today and in the future.”
to serve in different roles at the Office of International Religious By 2030, India might lead the world in every category, Verma
Freedom. said noting India has the youngest workforce in Asia “…and you’ll
Deborah Lipstadt, a scholar in modern Jewish history and Ho- hold that advantage until 2050. That’s pretty formidable.”
locaust studies at Emory University, was nominated as “Special “I look out at the year 2030, for example, and I see an India that
Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism with the Rank of may lead the world in almost every category…the most populous
Ambassador.” Pakistani American Gold Star parent Khizr Khan nation, the most college graduates, the largest middle-class, the most
and Sharon Kleinbaum, spiritual leader of the Beit Simchat Torah cell phone and Internet users, along with the third largest military
congregation, have been appointed as commissioners of the United and third largest economy, all coexisting in the world’s largest de-
States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). mocracy, with 600 million people under the age of 25,” he said.
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