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Strengthening ties

Despite it being a weekday and an afternoon event, Namaste America saw a packed house to welcome the new United States Consul General, Thomas L. Vajda

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Thomas L. Vajda, Boman Irani, Indu Shahani and Atul Nishar
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Last Monday, Namaste America—the Indo-American Association for Art & Culture organised a programme to welcome Thomas L. Vajda, the newly appointed United States Consul General in Mumbai at the Taj Lands End, Bandra.

Namaste India, which was started four years ago by a group of people including former Sheriff of Mumbai and Principal of HR College, Dr. Indu Shahani and Chairman of Techpro Ventures, Atul Nishar, to focus on education, music, sports and cultural exchange between the two nations. "Business ideas are exchanged even during a cultural event. However, it is also important to share our cultures as they improve bilateral relations between the two nations," says Nishar.

In her speech, Dr. Shahani placed emphasis on the education exchange programme between the two nations. "While India sends nearly 1.5 lakh students every year to the United States, there are a number of American students who come for their dissertation work in India. Add to that, we have a number of students who end up becoming professionals in the United States, giving back to society. In fact, there are nearly 50,000 (Indian) medical practitioners in the United States today," she said.

Vajda, who took over the post three and a half months ago, after tenures in Myanmar and the Middle East, has a lot to accomplish, as US President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit India in January 2015 as part of India's Republic Day celebrations. "The dialogue between the Indian Prime Minister and the United States President has opened up a number of doors. We hope that this will be a new chapter in the relations between India and the United States," expresses Vajda.
Speaking to dna, Vajda shares that his three-year plan as the US Consul General in Mumbai is to build and strengthen ties between the two nations. "Mumbai is India's financial capital and the idea is to bring in more American companies to invest here. The United States is also relaxing its business and tourist visas for Indians, which will also play an important role in strengthening bilateral ties. The United States is working actively on this," he explains.

The event was also graced by Bollywood actors Boman Irani and Richa Chadda, who both welcomed the new US Consul General to Mumbai.

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