WASHINGTON DC: USINPAC (US India Political Action Committee) Chairman Sanjay Puri testified before the House Committee on Foreign Relations and passionately advocated to give top priority to Education, STEM Teacher exchange and export of gas to ease India’s energy difficulty. He also recommended US working directly with progressive states in India to increase trade and cooperation.
Earlier, Congressman and Ranking Member of the Committee Eni Faleomavaega (D-AS), a strong advocate of US-India engagement pushed for strengthening the relationship between two countries. He said, “To deepen the U.S.-India relationship – which must be deepened if it is to become a defining partnership of the 21st century – I do believe it is to our benefit to focus on economic cooperation, energy security and education”.
Puri had been invited as an expert witness on the House Committee on Foreign Relations on its hearing “The rebalance to Asia: why South Asia matters”. USINPAC has been active in promoting Nuclear, Defense, Education, and trade relations between USA and India for the past decade.
Puri cited education as “the long-term solution required for the U.S.-India partnership to thrive.” He articulated how Indian education was a market opportunity of over $50 billion as India needed over 500 universities and 33,000 colleges in the next eight years. Also, Indian CEOs educated in the US are more active in the US-India relationship.
Chairman Puri drew attention of the members of the Committee to “a tremendous shortage of STEM teachers at the K-12 level” in the US and proposed to fill it with the huge pool of such teachers from India. He explained how it could create “our own pool of STEM experts for the future”.
Puri expressed a hope that USA will allow exports of gas to India saying, “it would do three things: increase economic opportunity in the U.S. through exports, reduce India’s energy dependence on the Middle East and thirdly build a more strategic relationship with India given the country’s tremendous need for energy independence”.
Puri further called upon the US to engage in direct conversations with Indian States and build strong economic and cultural ties with them as it can help the US get away from the policy paralysis that sometimes affects New Delhi.
India Post News Service
