By: Dr Avi Verma

The United States India Relationship Council (USIRC), a bipartisan political advocacy group focused on strengthening ties between the United States and India, held meetings with nine members of Congress during a two-day advocacy visit to Washington, D.C., from Sunday through Monday.

The discussions focused on strengthening the bilateral relationship across trade, defense, the Indo-Pacific, the Quad and concerns linked to Chinese Communist Party activities, while also addressing issues affecting Indian American and Hindu American communities. USIRC said the meetings were aimed at engaging lawmakers who serve or could serve on key foreign relations committees in Congress.

Among the lawmakers who met with the delegation were Representatives Jonathan Jackson, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Rich McCormick, Young Kim, Suhas Subramanyam, Derek Tran, Scott Peters, Jimmy Panetta and Sydney Kamlager-Dove. Several lawmakers expressed support for strengthening the United States-India partnership and highlighted opportunities for greater cooperation.
According to USIRC, the discussions produced broad agreement on the importance of the Indo-Pacific, addressing security challenges posed by the Chinese Communist Party, expanding United States-India cooperation and encouraging greater political participation by Indian and Hindu Americans. Participants also discussed combating anti-Indian and anti-Hindu hate.

The talks additionally covered supply chain resilience, maritime security, space cooperation and initiatives including the Artemis Accords and the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission. USIRC said the delegation emphasized shared democratic values, economic openness, individual liberty, family and cultural values, inclusion and global peace.

The organization said differences between the two countries can be addressed through continued dialogue and diplomacy and reaffirmed its commitment to promoting stronger and more resilient United States-India relations.