New Delhi [India], January 16 (ANI): Ahead of the US Consulate opening in Bengaluru, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya on Wednesday met with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with traditional Mysore Pak sweets and expressed gratitude to the Central Government for facilitating the consulate in Bengaluru.
Bengaluru had been demanding a US Consulate for long with Surya persistently following up on the demand since being elected an MP in 2019. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in June 2023, it was announced that the US would open two new consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, and India would establish a mission in Seattle. The US Consulate will be dedicated to the city of Bengaluru on January 17 by the Ambassador of the US to India Eric Garcetti with other top dignitaries set to attend the ceremony on Friday.
While the Consulate officials are yet to be named and the location too yet to be revealed, it has been reported that the Consulate would initially function with a limited number of officers from the JW Marriott hotel on Vittal Mallya Road, before moving to a permanent office.
Late on Wednesday evening, Surya posted a video on X with the Foreign Minister welcoming the US Consulate. “It’s been made possible only and only because of PM @narendramodi and EAM @DrSJaishankar’s efforts. What better way to thank our EAM than with our own Mysuru Pak!” the video caption read.
https://x.com/Tejasvi_Surya/status/1879558007350252009
He further said, “Bengaluru having a US Consulate will benefit lakhs of students from the city. The city is the country’s IT capital and home to many multinational companies. The Consulate will boost commerce and trade between the two countries and smoothen travel for businessmen and entrepreneurs. I thank the Modi Government for promoting the interests of Bengaluru at every given opportunity and fulfilling a long-pending request.”
In March 2023, Surya sought Jaishankar’s support for the US Consulate in Bengaluru. Back then, Jaishankar had said, “Since you have put it so strongly and repeatedly, I assure you that the next time I meet Mr Anthony Blinken (then the US Secretary of State), I will hammer home that message with at least as much force as you have done (right now).”
Back in November 2019, Surya met Jaishankar with a written request for a US consulate in Bengaluru. “There are around 750 Multi-National Companies situated in Bengaluru with about 370 of them headquartered in the United States. Bengaluru and Karnataka together account for a large pool for students and businessmen travelling to the United States. Having a fully functioning US Consulate in Bengaluru rather than the existing virtual consulate would be convenient for at least half a million people of Karnataka and would also ease the burden on the Consulates in Chennai and Hyderabad,” he had written in a letter dated November 18, 2019.
He had also placed a request with the Ambassador of the US to India, Dr Kenneth Juster, in March 2020. (ANI)
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