Chennai: A striking resemblance to Ronald Reagan was commented upon as the US envoy met up with the Friends of United States on Saturday evening. The Consul General Robert Burgess is relatively new to the Cathedral Road landmark and he promises a new era of ties even as the US Ambassador Kenneth Juster arrived last week in the country with the unanimous approval of the Senate.
The Chennai organisation, whose founder president is Mr K.N. Ranganathan, seeks cultural and business ties with the US but it was out on a broader mission this time with other prominent invitees being the UK Deputy High Commissioner Bharat Joshi and the German Consul General Achim Fabig, who was the Chief Guest. The evening was about shared values as the trio of powerful diplomats turned on the charm. Also present was industrialist Venu Srinivasan, goodwill ambassador of South Korea.
India-US ties are at an uptick and India’s trade balance is favorable, said Dr G. Viswanathan, president of the Friends of United States. Just as his VIT has been attracting a flock of foreign students, including young Americans, the Chancellor pointed out that his students were prominent in 40 states of the USA and he was wishing they would go on to ‘conquer’ the remaining 10 soon.
Mr Burgess disclosed that US envoys have been here since 1794 and continuously present since 1876. While he was happy to speak about the blossoming strategic relationship India enjoys with his country, he was more pleased to note the smooth working of the Fulbright scholarship scheme that has been bringing about fruitful academic exchanges between the two countries.
Mr Fabig was delighted to point out that the ties are historic and that Donald Trump’s grandfather was born in Germany. Shared interests seemed to take centre stage. Chennai as host city earned more than a few marks too as some US diplomat said they were dreading leaving the city as their tenure here is coming to a close. It was a convivial evening on which the art of diplomacy bloomed.
