NEW YORK: Eric Garcetti said on Tuesday that he intends "to double-down on our efforts to strengthen Indias capacity to secure its borders, defend its sovereignty, and deter aggression" if he is confirmed as the US Ambassador to New Delhi.
"India is situated in a tough neighbourhood. Few nations are more vital to the future of American security and prosperity than India," Garcetti said at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on his nomination.
He said that he would work to achieve India's security "through information sharing, counter-terrorism coordination, joint freedom of navigation patrols and military exercises, which I have participated in as a naval officer alongside my Indian counterparts, and sales of our best defence technologies in order to realise the full potential of our major defence partnership".
Nominees for ambassadorships and other senior administration jobs have to be confirmed by the Senate.
Garcetti's nomination was announced in July, but it has taken five months for the Senate to start the confirmation process by holding Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings. If the panel approves the nomination, it will go to the full Senate for a final vote.
The committee also took up the nomination of Donald Blome to be the Ambassador to Pakistan. Garcetti is the Mayor of Los Angeles and was a co-chair of President Joe Biden's election committee.
Committee Chair Senator Bob Menendez said he welcomed Garcetti's nomination "at a critical time in the US-India relationship" when "India is a vital strategic partner for the United States as a member of the Quad alongside the United States, Japan and Australia. India is playing a greater role in helping maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific".
On other items on his agenda for India, Garcetti said, "I intend to champion an ambitious economic partnership with India that reduces market access barriers and bolsters fair trade and creates good jobs for the American middle class."
On human rights issues that were raised by the Senators on the panel, he said, "Respect for human rights and strong democratic institutions are key elements of our strategic partnership and values enshrined in our constitutions, and if confirmed, I will engage closely and regularly with the Indian government on these issues."
In his introductory remarks, Garcetti said that when he visited India in 1990 as the guest of then-Ambassador Bill Clark, whose son was his college roommate, US-India ties "languished in the shadow of Cold War mistrust" and "the very idea of a US India Strategic Partnership would have been deemed laughable."
"Today," he said, "The fundamental nature of that strategic partnership is firmly ingrained in both Washington and New Delhi. Twenty years ago, President (Joe) Biden – then Chairman of this esteemed committee – called for a new and ambitious vision of US-India ties. Thanks to successive administrations – Democratic and Republican – and the bipartisan work of this Congress, that strong new chapter is upon us."
He said that inspired by his India visit, he had studied Hindi and Urdu in college, along with religious studies. (IANS)
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