CLEVELAND (Diya TV) — Arun K. Singh, Indian Ambassador to the U.S., said at this week’s Republican National Convention that the 3.5 million Indian-American population are positioned to play a key role in the fostered growth and strengthening of the relationship between the two nations.
People-to-people contact is a key element of the bilateral relationship, he said to an assembled group at a reception that was hosted in his honor by the Indian-American Forum for Political Education. Dr. Sampat Shivangi, an eminent Republican from Mississippi, headed up the affair.
“I think, what gives a real, solid and fundamental basis to the (India-US) relationship is the people-to-people dimension of the relationship,” said Singh.
There are 110,000 Indian-origin doctors in the U.S., Singh said. That statistic is so staggering that every seventh medical patient in the country is seen by an Indian doctor. Additionally, forty percent of all hotel rooms in the country are owned and managed by people of Indian-origin, generating annual revenue of $13 billion for the U.S. economy. Each year, nearly 140,000 Indian students arrive in the U.S. for higher education, generating another $4.5 billion for the country’s economy, Singh said.
“So it’s a huge engagement with US institutions,” he said, adding, “I believe all of you will have an important role to play in contributing to this. All of you in a sense are permanent Ambassadors here. You have an understanding of the US. You have an understanding of India and Indian society. So based on this understanding and the network that you have you will be in a position to take forward this relationship in different areas.”
Dr. Shivangi said the relationship between the two nations is trending in a positive direction faster than ever, particularly after the recent visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shivangi, a delegate for the Republican National Convention, has been organizing a reception for the Indian Ambassador for the last three conventions.
“This is an effort to honour the Indian Ambassador and establish relationship between the Indian Government and the community,” he said.
