US envoy thanks India for serving as 'cultural ambassadors'

Washington DC [USA], Feb 8 (ANI): India's Ambassador to the United States, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, has expressed gratitude towards the Indian community for serving as the 'cultural ambassadors' and contributing for strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries.
Shringla made the remarks at a congressional reception hosted in his honour here.
The co-chairs of the Senate India Caucus and Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans- Senator John Cornyn, Senator Mark Warner, Congressman Brad Sherman and Congressman George Holding hosted the reception to welcome Shringla on his taking over as India's Ambassador to the US at the Capitol Hill on February 7, said a statement by the Indian Embassy in Washington DC.
Shringla, in his remarks, thanked the Caucus co-chairs for their warm welcome. He noted that the bipartisan support for the India-US strategic partnership was reflected in the turnout of the members of Congress across the aisle for the event.
Shringla spoke in brief about the progress made in bilateral ties over the past year across all domains - defence, economic and trade, energy cooperation, culture and people-to-people exchanges, as per the statement.
In their welcome remarks, Senator Warner, Senator Cornyn, Congressman Sherman and Congressman Holding underlined the importance of the India-US strategic partnership and the critical role played by Congress, in particular, the India Caucus in strengthening relations.
They extended a warm welcome to Shringla and committed to working together in building closer ties between the two countries. They also appreciated the significant role played by the Indian-American community in building bridges of understanding across the two cultures and nations. They also called upon the new members to join the India Caucus, it said.
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney informed that she will be introducing a bill in the 116th Congress to award a congressional gold medal to Mahatma Gandhi in his 150th birth anniversary year.
Congressman Gregory Meeks stated that Mahatma Gandhi had been an inspiration for him. Congresswoman Grace Meng mentioned her support for India's permanent membership of the UN Security Council.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer also attended and spoke about the great contributions of the Indian-American community across all fields in the US.
The event was attended by an unprecedented 67 members of Congress, including senators. In addition, leaders of the Indian-American community from across the US, business associations and members of the media attended the event. (ANI)