The inordinate delay in Eric Garcetti’s nomination as the new American Ambassador to Delhi has raised questions among the government’s detractors about the priority given to India by the Joe Biden Administration.
But observers argue that the steady growth in Indo-US relations in the intervening period indicates the strength and depth of the bilateral relationship is such that it can move forward even when the Ambassador’s post remained vacant for months.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden finally managed to get his nominee Garcetti, whose name he had suggested in July 2021, approved by the United States’ Senate as the country’s Ambassador to India.
President Biden is scheduled to visit Delhi with other world leaders for the G-20 summit in September. A vacancy in the Ambassador’s post would have been an embarrassment for Indo-US ties.
So far, the US has been managing its New Delhi embassy with deputy ambassadors. It had four such deputy ambassadors in the past months.
“India is situated in a tough neighbourhood. I intend to double-down on our efforts to strengthen India’s capacity to secure its borders and deter aggression through counterterrorism coordination,” Garcetti said, indicating challenges India faces from China and Pakistan.
Garcetti, 50, will replace Kenneth Juster, who served as the US Ambassador to India during the Trump administration.
"I am honoured to accept this nomination to serve in this role," Garcetti, a Democrat, said.
Garcetti, a former Mayor of Los Angeles, was embroiled in a sexual harassment controversy when allegations were brought against his former aide, and it was also suggested that though Garcetti knew about his misconduct, he chose to ignore them.
Several Senators refused to support his nomination, delaying the appointment of a new American Ambassador to India.
But on March 8 the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted in favour of his nomination in a 13 to 8 vote, as many Senators were convinced that Garcetti had nothing to do with the misconduct of his former close aide, Rick Jacobs.
The US has described its relations with India as “one of the most consequential” in the world.
But the long delay had raised eyebrows in diplomatic circles and tongues had started wagging on where bilateral relations between Washington and Delhi were headed.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor was quoted as saying that if the US really thinks the relations with India are very important, then President Biden should have been more emphatic in pressing for Garcetti’s nomination to go through.
However, the narrow margin that the Democrats now enjoy in the Senate and under the highly polarised political scenario in the US, the tradition of getting bipartisan support on key issues is proving to be exceedingly challenging.
“The fact that India and the US has managed to move forward steadily in their relationship shows how strong and deep the bilateral ties are,” says Rudra Chaudhuri, Director of think-tank Carnegie India.
He adds, “This is not to suggest that the Ambassador has no role to play in bilateral relations.”
His presence is both symbolic and substantial in nurturing the Indo-US relations and pushing it even further to help ties attain a higher level, says Chaudhuri.
As a political appointee, the Ambassador enjoys a special rapport and confidence of the American President.
He can make his own assessment of a given situation and reach out to the President directly by cutting through the bureaucratic red-tape, unlike a career diplomat, who usually reports to the US Secretary of State or the country’s Foreign Minister.
Over the past two decades, Indo-US relations have grown steadily and the bilateral relations reflect the wide range of areas in which the two countries cooperate.
Garcetti, a two-time Mayor of Los Angeles is a close confidant of Biden and his nomination shows the US President is taking a personal interest in the development of bilateral relations with India.
Garcetti was the first Jewish and Mexican-American Mayor of Los Angeles. He has been a climate warrior, teacher and naval officer, doing a stint also in naval intelligence.
He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Columbia University and studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. Later, he completed further education at the London School of Economics.
He has travelled to India several times and learnt both Hindi and Urdu while in college.
Garcetti’s focus will be on working with India to reach “climate goals” and encourage New Delhi to move away further from its dependence on Russian weapons, preferably towards the US.
However, some former diplomats wonder if he will have enough time to make an impression in India as crucial elections are due in both countries — parliamentary election in India and Presidential election in the US — in 2024.
Moreover, even if Biden returns to power there is no guarantee that Garcetti will still be around in India as his Ambassador.
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