Official sources here said Jaishankar will also hold talks on regional and international issues of mutual interest with senior members of the Donald Trump administration during his visit
A day after the Indian Ambassador, Navtej Sarna hosted 25 Governors of different US states in Washington DC — the first such event in recent years — Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar starts his crucial four-day tour. During the trip, Jaishankar will discuss the safety of Indians as well as raise the thorny issue of H1-B visas.
Official sources here said Jaishankar will also hold talks on regional and international issues of mutual interest with senior members of the Donald Trump administration during his visit.
The 25 Governors along with the special envoys of four other governors, who attended Sarna’s reception two nights after the killing of an Indian engineer in Kansas, expressed solidarity with India whose citizens feel threatened following recent racial attacks and President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Sarna said that more than 400,000 jobs have been directly or indirectly supported by Indian tech companies.
The job growth he said was as high as 10 per cent.
Over the last five years, Indian tech companies have paid over $20 billion as taxes, $7 billion towards social security contributions and impacted more than 120,000 American lives through Corporate Social Responsibility contributions.
Urging the US companies to be part of the Indian success story, Ambassador Sarna said that India’s booming economy creates strong demand for US goods, helping to create jobs and bring prosperity. He said that Indian companies operate in most US states and are present in diverse sectors such as IT and telecommunications, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, education, financial service and manufacturing.
Officials here said the government was engaged with the Trump administration as well as members of the US Congress on concerns regarding thethorny issue of H-1B visas. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields.
During the visit, Jaishankar will also raise the issue of safety of Indian nationals.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Jaishankar will meet Acting Deputy Secretary of State Tom Shannon and other officials.
Indian envoy Sarna’s meeting with Governors is seen as a deft move to connect directly with those in position to deal with violence and hate crimes. Sarna also said that since US and India are both federal in their polity and governance systems, the states will always have a critical role to play in spurring growth and facilitating investments. He mentioned that Prime Minister Modi, who has himself been the chief minister of a state for more than a decade, is a strong believer in ‘cooperative federalism’.
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