Washington: The US India Business Council (USIBC) hosted a reception on Wednesday for the outgoing India’s Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu, who retires from the Indian Foreign Service at month-end after an illustrious 35-year.
The reception was attended by top officials from the White House, State Department and representatives from the corporate sector.
During his long career, Sandhu was posted in the United States four times, with three of them being at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC “When you make the short list of people who really made a difference to India-US relationship, Ambassador Sandhu is on that list in a way that very few people who serve in the diplomatic ranks have been able to do,” Kurt Campbell, National Security Council coordinator for the Indo-Pacific at the White House said.
Atul Keshap, the current president of USIBC remarked, “in addition to being a tactful and skillful diplomat, Sandhu has been “a dreamer” who has achieved “truly great things” for the US-India relationship.”
In his remarks, Sandhu spoke about the India-US relationship and also praised the role played by many present there including Campbell, Keshap and Nisha Desai Biswal, Deputy CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in strengthening India-US ties and navigating many bilateral crises together.
“I cannot help but mention a bit about my good friend Kurt. As we know, is a force in himself and has made the impossible possible,” Sandhu said referring to the establishment and success of the Quad Summit including its first summit at the peak of Covid-19.
