Nancy Powell's pledges to cement US-India strategic partnership. Aziz Haniffa reports
'As America's second post-9/11 President takes office, a single country has become ground zero for the terrorist threat we face,' Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote in an opinion piece published in The Washington Times.
The United States embassy in New Delhi has informed US Senator Bob Corker, Tennessee Republican and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is not eligible to receive a diplomatic visa. Aziz Haniffa reports.
Nancy Powell, being the quintessential diplomat, and attempting to be as circumspect as possible, replied, "Iran and India have a long tradition of trade across energy and other fields. It is one that is clearly a part of our sanctions regime, that we are hoping to see it significantly reduced."
Schumer and Menendez said the months-long demonstrations have been met with orders from the central government and local authorities to shut off internet access in protest areas, cut off water and electricity supplies for the tens of thousands living in protest camps, and impede the work of journalists reporting on the protests.
The India-United States relationship has still not reached its full potential, though the two countries have developed steadily closer ties built on a uniquely strong foundation, according to powerful Senator Richard Lugar, a key supporter of the civil nuclear deal between the two sides. "The remarkable deepening of US-India ties over the past decade is only a start, as the relationship has still not reached its full potential," Lugar, ranking Republican.
Egged on by more than 160 venture capitalists, including several Indian Americans, US Senators John F Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat and Richard Lugar, Indiana Republican, have introduced a legislation to create jobs in America and increasing America's global competitiveness by helping immigrant entrepreneurs obtain visas to the United States.
The United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will testify before key Congressional committees on January 22, on the deadly militant attack on a US Consulate in Benghazi, in which the US Ambassador to Libya and three other American were killed.
India is centrally important for America's success in the Af-Pak region, according to Richard Holbrooke, special United States representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan. "I want to be sure that everyone here recognises how centrally important India will be to this (the US success in Afghanistan and Pakistan)," he told American lawmakers at a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan and Pakistan convened by the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has acknowledged that even with a firewall that has been constructed against the diversion of massive American military aid to Pakistan to the nuclear weapons programme, there are no ironclad guarantees that aid cannot be diverted and hence it remains a major concern to the US. Clinton was appearing before the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee to defend the Obama administration's foreign aid budget for the fiscal year
An influential American Senator has said that in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, the most important bond between the United States and India is their 'unity in the face of extremism'.Republican Senator George V Voinovich, a ranking member of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also lauded India's restraint vis--vis taking action against Pakistan.But he cautioned that this should not mean that Pakistan has been 'given a free pass'.
Ruling out sending American troops to Pakistan to assist the country's offensive against Taliban, Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee today said Islamabad would have to develop a "homegrown" policy to fight extremists.
'The Senators were playing safe, not angering either the pro-India lobby or the pro-Pakistan lobby, but perhaps more importantly, the military-industrial complex -- the most powerful lobby of all -- which the majority of Senators are beholden to in terms of largesse to their campaign coffers.'
The New York Times report that Pakistan illegally modified the Harpoon anti-ship missile provided by the United States apparently to bolster its conventional weaponry against India, has embarrassed the Obama administration and Senators John F Kerry and Richard Lugarjust as Washington is poised to provide Islamabad with a massive economic and military largesse of $ 7.5 billion over five years
"The recent arrests here in our own country trace back to Pakistan and trace back certainly in the case of Zazi, directly to an Al Qaeda-originated training camp and training programme. But finally and perhaps most chillingly the fact that Pakistan is a nuclear power raises the stakes enormously," she said.
United States vice president-elect Joe Biden will lead a bipartisan Congressional delegation on a visit to Southwest Asia before he takes office alongside Barack Obama on January 20. For security reasons, details of the trip and the countries to be visited have not been released. Biden would be accompanied by Senator John Kerry, the former Democratic Presidential candidate and the incoming Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"He (Biden) is very much part of this period when Indo-American relations underwent a radical transformation, which I reasonably date back to (Bill) Clinton's visit," Jaishankar said.
President Barack Obama has sent the report on the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal to the US Congress, the White House said on Friday.
President Barack Obama has sent the report on the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal to the US Congress, the White House said today.
The United States vowed to build "strong partnerships" with India and other democratic nations to meet global challenges, like terrorism and nuclear proliferation, according to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.\n\n
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that India, along with countries like China and Turkey, is taking steps to reduce its dependency on Iranian oil.
Colorado-based Indian American businessman Vinai Thummalapally, who raised funds for President Barack Obama's presidential campaign, on Wednesday said he was proud to be nominated as the first Indian American to serve as United States' envoy to Belize.Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the confirmation hearing, Obama's nominee to the Central American state said he would work to strengthen US interests in Belize, if confirmed.
The United States will help India and Pakistan "find a new way forward" only if they stop "pointing fingers at each other," a visiting top Senator said on Monday, even as Islamabad asserted that a "calm eastern border" is essential to focus on its war against terror in Afghanistan.
Addressing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, America's Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke identified the Lashkar as the group, which planned and executed the 26/11 attacks.
Foreign Service Officer Robert Orris Blake, Jr, who is currently the United States' Ambassador to Sri Lanka, before which he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in New Delhi from 2003 to 2006, is the top contender for the post of the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, currently held by diplomat Richard Boucher.
United States ambassador-designate to the United Nations, Susan Rice, identified Kashmir as one of the hot spots and bracketed it with conflict-torn regions, including the Balkans and Golan heights.
Donald Trump's exaggerated opinion of his dealmaking capacity can get him into trouble, observes R Sriram.
The US, he said, is working in the G-20 to help build consensus on long-term reforms that will provide the foundation for a more balanced, more stable global economy.
The United States administration on Wednesday sought to address public anger in Pakistan over an American official, who shot and killed two men, by saying that the department of justice will conduct a criminal investigation into the incident despite his diplomatic immunity.
Burns was responding to the opening remarks by Senator John F Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, who said it was imperative that the United States "...must consider Pakistan's relationship with India, especially when it comes to Kashmir."
Curtis, who was the lead panellist at a conference at The Brookings Institution titled, The US-India Nuclear Agreement: Expectations and Consequences,' said, "During the Bush Administration, US officials broke the habit of viewing India solely through the India-Pakistan lens. Washington developed a greater appreciation for the Indian democratic miracle and viewed our shared democratic principles as the bedrock for a broader strategic partnership."
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday directed that the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the ships in her strike group will remain on station in the general area to monitor the situation.
Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry said on Wednesday that Pakistan has become the "ground zero of terrorism" and "security threat" to the United States.
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