India welcomes Eric Garcetti’s appointment as US envoy

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India on Thursday welcomed the US Senate’s much-delayed confirmation of the appointment of Eric Garcetti as ambassador, saying the government is looking forward to working with him. The confirmation finally came ahead of a state visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US, likely starting June 21, and also the G20 summit in September that will see President Joe Biden travelling to India.

“We welcome the confirmation of Eric Garcetti as US Ambassador to India. We look forward to working with him to take forward our multi-faceted bilateral relations,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing.

Garcetti’s nomination was pending before the US Congress since July 2021 when he was nominated by Biden.
His nomination was not confirmed by the Senate earlier following concerns by some lawmakers that the then Los Angeles mayor had not adequately handled allegations of sexual assault and harassment against one of his aides.

Asked about Garcetti’s reported comments on alleged human rights violations in India, Bagchi said he wasn’t aware of any recent comments by the ambassador-designate on this issue. “I think there is something on social media which is pretty old,” he said.

Garcetti was quoted as saying in 2021 that he would actively bring up issues related to human rights and religious discrimination in India. “There are groups that are actively fighting for human rights of people on the ground in India that will get direct engagement from me,” he had said at a Senate hearing. (TIMES OF INDIA)