Schumer CODEL Is The Largest, Most Senior Senate Delegation To Ever Visit India
New Delhi: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer released an exclusive statement after meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, February 20, 2023, in New Delhi.
“I am honored to lead the largest and most senior Senate delegation to India ever to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is only my second CODEL as a senator and my first as majority leader. I made India my first CODEL as majority leader to show my commitment to the important U.S.-India relationship. We need nations such as India, the world’s largest democracy, to work with us to strengthen democracies in Asia and outcompete China and to counterbalance its aggressions. India is one of the leading powers of the world and a strong U.S.-India relationship is a must for democracy, technology advancement, and a strong world economy.
“I am proud that the senators of our delegation served as strong representatives of America’s commitment to the U.S.-Indian economic and security partnership.
“In our meeting with Prime Minister Modi we discussed the growing U.S.-India relationship and the common interests that unite the two largest democracies in the world. It was a substantive and productive conversation lasting an hour about strengthening our cooperation on our shared strategic interests including outcompeting China, combatting climate change, increasing trade, and deepening ties between our two countries. I strongly believe a robust U.S.-India relationship will be the cornerstone for stability in the Indo-Pacific region for the 21st century.
“We also discussed with both Prime Minister Modi and the US Embassy the strong desire of our delegation to see our immigration laws for Indian Americans improved. It is in our mutual interest for more Indians to be able to immigrate to America, which will bolster our economy on several levels. For example, being sent home 60 days after losing a job in tech and other industries is unfair for Indian Americans and bad for America.”
“All of us in the delegation expressed our commitment to continue working with Prime Minister Modi’s government to deepen our bilateral relationship to advance our mutual interest.
“Strengthening further ties between India and the U.S. is one of the great stories of the 21st century.”
