US-India Summit on the Hill on April 26

Dialogue with government and Indian American leaders to strengthen US-India strategic and economic relationship

The Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans is hosting a US-India Summit on the Capitol Hill featuring a dialogue with government leaders, experts and Indian American leaders from around the country, on April 26.

Panels will discuss topics centered around strengthening the US-India strategic and economic relationship from 12 noon to 5 pm followed by a reception in Dirksen Senate Office building at 7 pm.

Read: All eyes on the Quad summit and Modi-Biden meeting (September 20, 2021)

Speakers and attending dignitaries include Congressmen Ro Khanna and Mike Waltz, Co-chairs of India caucus, Rich Verma, former US ambassador to India and Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Gen James Mattis, former US Secretary of Defense, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Indian ambassador to the US and Eric Garcetti, US ambassador to India.

Meanwhile, Khanna has stressed the need to build US alliances with India and other Asian partners as part of efforts to rebalance China saying India will be a key partner in that effort.

“As important, we need to build our alliances with India and other Asian partners, recognizing that they will not be satellite states and will march to their own drummer more so than our NATO partners,” he said speaking on rebalancing China with a new economic patriotism at Stanford’s Hoover Institution on Monday.

“Given the history of colonialism, and the cultural pride of many Asian nations, we cannot expect to have as smooth, lockstep, and cohesive an alignment as an Asian NATO. What we need is multipolarity in Asia and the denial of China as a hegemon,” said Khanna.

Read: Modi-Biden summit will strengthen India-US ties: White House (September 21, 2021)

“India will be a key partner in that effort,” he said. “As the new co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus, I’ve called for strengthening our economic and defense ties between the oldest and largest democracies.”

“The new US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology, will deepen our technology partnership,” said Khanna. “India’s participation in the Quad, along with Japan and Australia, is critical for ensuring our partners work together to keep China from becoming a hegemon in Asia.”

“In the 1950s, China and India shared a common aspiration to see Asia emerge after Western colonialism. But (then Prime Minister Jawaharlal) Nehru’s vision of collaboration with China has soured,” he said.

“China creeps towards hegemony in Asia, threatens India’s borders, and treats other countries as junior partners,” Khanna said. “The people of India now see China as their greatest military threat, not Pakistan.”