Neera Tanden and Tim Roemer at the summit. / USISPF

Indian-American Neera Tanden, the domestic policy advisor to President Joe Biden, said that the diaspora has played a huge role in building the India-US relationship.

“Even in past moments where there have been fraught tensions between the United States and India, or suspicion or concern, it's the people — the people of both countries who have helped build the relationship,” she said. “Many Indians I know have family and relatives in the United States that have helped shape the vision that they have of the US. There's just a deep connection to how India perceives the US, through how the US treats Indians. That is fundamentally important as we make progress,” she added.
 

Tanden, who is one of the many influential Indian-Americans in the White House, was speaking at the 7th Annual Leadership Summit in Washington hosted by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).

The event took place on June.17 and featured many distinguished individuals including USISPF chairman John Chambers, USISPF president Mukesh Aghi, and senators Steve Dains and Dan Sullivan.

Chambers shared that his 85-year-old father's life was saved by an Indian doctor. He expressed immense gratitude for the contributions of doctors from India, who are more in number in the United States than those from any other country. “I'm very, very thankful for that, to have more doctors coming from India than any other country, grateful for what they do, not only their incredible expertise, but also their compassion,” he said.

Speaking about the Indian-American community, Sullivan reiterated their contribution to the thriving India-US relationship. “The Indian-American community is going to be a key source of continuing to drive the strategic relationship between the United States and India even closer,” he said at the summit.

Senator Dains remarked that what sets India and the US apart is their incredible talent. “The human capital is the most important capital of any nation. The fact is there's incredible human talent in India and the United States,” he said. “We have the rule of law. We share the common values of democracy. That is what allows the innovation ecosystem to long-term win and allows us to succeed,” he added.

At the summit, Henry R Kravis, founder and co-executive chairman of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co., was honored for his contributions with its 2024 Global Leadership Award at the summit.

Indian-American Aghi praised Kravis highlighting that Kravis's firm has evolved beyond private equity into areas such as private debt and has become a substantial operating entity. “I think that all of these have had a massive impact on economic diplomacy as it goes around,” he said.

Under Kravis’s leadership, his firm has emerged as one of the largest investors in India and has invested over $11 billion over the past two decades across an eclectic mix of sectors, creating thousands of jobs and contributing to the growth of the Indian economy.

Speaking on the India-US relationship, Kravis described it as “multidimensional”.

“If you think about our values and India's values, we believe very strongly in democracy,” he said. “There are five million plus Indian Americans today. There are 270,000 students with visas in the United States. Last year alone, I think, was a record number of Indians looking for visas to come to the US.” he added.

Kravis noted that there are numerous opportunities in India. He highlighted the country's well-educated workforce, young population, and the approximately 860 million people using the internet. He also praised the abundance of talented entrepreneurs in India.

“There have been so many good things that PM Modi has been able to do, that have been absolutely fantastic for the average person,” Kravis said.

Henry Kravis receiving his honorary award. / USISPF

Mukesh Aghi recalled how President Biden said that the US-India relationship is the most consequential of the 21st century.

“And what we are seeing in the state visit we had last year, over 170-plus different agreements were initiated,” Aghi said. “In fact, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is with his team in India currently and talking about some of the iCET principles. I think it's important that this [US-India] relationship is defined not just purely on technology, it's defined on geopolitics, it's defined on economic opportunity, but more importantly, defined on people to people.”