- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
During his long career, Sandhu was posted in the US four times, with three of them being at the Indian embassy in Washington DC.
By: Shubham Ghosh
A PREMIER American business advocacy group on Wednesday (17) hosted a reception for India’s outgoing ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, who retires from the Indian Foreign Service at the end of January following an illustrious 35-year career.
The US-India Business Council (USIBC) hosted the reception which was attended by top officials from the White House, US state department and representatives from the corporate sector, and applauded the role played by Sandhu in shaping the India-US relationship over the past few decades.
During his long career, Sandhu was posted in the US four times, with three of them being at the Indian embassy in Washington DC. His current stint as the ambassador started in February 2020 when he replaced Harsh Vardhan Shringla.
In a post on X, the USIBC said, “As Ambassador Sandhu embarks on a new chapter, we thank him for his contributions to U.S.-India relations. We take great pleasure in appreciating the positive working relationship our members and team have enjoyed with him over the decades. Ambassador Sandhu has been a fervent advocate for strengthening U.S.-India relations. His unwavering commitment has been instrumental in fostering collaboration and enhancing the bond between our nations.”
Read: Indian diaspora, US Congress played ‘pioneering role’ in boosting bilateral ties: Envoy Sandhu
On a freezing January day, USIBC hosted a warm-hearted farewell reception in the @USChamber's grandest hall for the outgoing Ambassador of India to the United States, Ambassador @SandhuTaranjitS.
The event, attended by industry leaders, senior officials, and supporters of the… pic.twitter.com/R2CVNOT1Dc
— U.S.-India Business Council (@USIBC) January 18, 2024
“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 in his remarks at the farewell reception.
Read: Why India envoy to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu feels Modi’s visit to Washington is ‘historic’
“He will be badly missed. He has come to personify the relationship between the United States and India. He’s a terrific friend. He’s a wonderful human being, and he’s done a great job. We wish him well in whatever he does next. I just hope it’s not retirement. There are too many skills that he brings to the table,” Campbell added.
Thank you @USIBC for hosting a warm farewell, joined by industry leaders, senior officials, & supporters of the ???? partnership. Fond memories of working together with many of them in advancing the bilateral relationship, especially in trade, tech, and commerce.
Appreciate the… pic.twitter.com/r6W5PF2uvR
— Taranjit Singh Sandhu (@SandhuTaranjitS) January 18, 2024
Atul Keshap, a former diplomat and current president of USIBC, said in addition to being a tactful and skilful diplomat, Sandhu has been “a dreamer” who has achieved “truly great things” for the US-India relationship.
“I don’t have to chronicle all of them. History will record them, but the bilateral relationship is at the best possible stage that I have seen in my entire life, and it’s because of your efforts,” he said.
“The State Visit of Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi was truly impressive and showed the vastness and importance of the relationship. Pulling that off was never going to be easy, but you and your team did it with grace and style. Very impressive!” Keshap told Sandhu at the reception.
In his remarks, Sandhu, who will turn 60 next week, 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 (Campbell). 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 pandemic in 2021.
Highlighting the various aspects of the India-US relationship, including defence, education and the recently launched ICET dialogue, Singh said the partnership actually requires much more investment and involvement.
Biswal, who has worked with Sandhu in various capacities from the US side during the past few decades, said that what Sandhu understood was a fundamental principle of foreign policy that the relationship between nations is ultimately about the relationship between the people.
“In all of his tours of duty, but most importantly in his current role as Ambassador, Taranjit has invested in the people at the heart of the relationship,” she said.
“Whether it was the people in the state department or the White House that ran the policy, or the people on the Hill who shaped the politics of the US-India partnership, members of the diaspora community, the business community, the educational institutions, the cultural institutions; engaging at the state level, at the city level, no matter where you lived or worked, if you had an impact or an importance to the US and new relationship, Taranjit would find you and he would seek you out,” she said.
“In a sense, he brought to this relationship a politician’s instinct. Maybe that is why he has been so successful in engaging the Congress. It is that political instinct combined with the strategic mind that has made him such an influential and effective ambassador and advocate for India in the United States, in Sri Lanka, and across the many geographies that he has served in,” Biswal said.
(With PTI inputs)
