New Delhi: US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti on Monday emphasized the strong bond between America and India, stating that America sees its future with India, and India sees its future with America, adding that the two nations are better when they are together.

He highlighted the importance of people-to-people ties, saying that the more connections Americans have with Indians, the more opportunities will arise for economic and educational exchanges.

Speaking on the theme ‘The United States and India: Building Bridges for Our People’, Garcetti said that the more ties Americans have with Indians, the more ways they can find to grow economic and educational exchanges.

Garcetti said, “We never know what the future holds, but I’ll say this to my fellow Americans, the more ties that we have to more Indians, and the more ways we can find to grow our economic and educational exchanges, the stronger America and India will both be. In a world that too often cedes space to forces that seek to divide us, both internally and internationally, let us be a voice as we have been, to care for each other across the things that too often separate us, to care across geography and religion, language and income, identity and so much more.”

“Let’s prove any haters wrong the way we always have, by meeting, instead of tweeting, by investing, instead of protesting, by connecting instead of objecting and by bringing people together, acknowledging in this day and age, there will always be some divisive voices, but let’s never mistake the loudest or most clickable comments for being the most representative. We know that there are Americans and Indians who are invested in this relationship and overwhelmingly our populations want this relationship to deepen,” he added.

He noted that democracy, although challenging to manage, is the best system and that diverse populations like those in India and the US make life more interesting. Garcetti praised the resilience of the India-US relationship, which has been fostered over 230 years since the establishment of the first US diplomatic mission in Kolkata.

He noted that democracy is tougher to manage than non-democracy and called the former the “best system.” He said that Americans love Indians and Indians love Americans. He said that there have been 230 yrs of cooperation between India and the US since US established diplomatic mission in Kolkata.

Garcetti said, “The truth is, as I said, Americans love Indians and Indians love Americans. So as we look to the future, on this day, just a week before our country’s democracy will move forward with the new administration, we saw democracy turn the page here in this country with an election last year. Think about how lucky we are as people to live in two large diverse democracies. As I’ve often said, democracy is tougher to manage than non-democracy, but it is the best system out there. And diverse populations don’t mean that everybody gets along, but think of how boring life would be if we all looked the same, all spoke the same, and all acted the same.”

“You know 230 years of formal cooperation between the United States of America and India since we established our first diplomatic mission in Kolkata. We can honestly say that this relationship has never been stronger and that we are always better when we are together. America sees its future with India and India sees its future with America, a future defined by friendship. Defined by trust and together an unstoppable force for good in the world today. And so we have to ask ourselves at these moments when the years change, did we do what was important and lasting? Did we do it with a sense of urgency, purpose, and determination?” he added.

Stressing that visas are potholes for a diplomatic mission, he said, “When I was mayor, I used to say we can’t work on the big things until we get back to the basics. Well, in a city, when you run a city, getting back to the basics means taking care of the streets, filling the potholes, and ensuring that people can move smoothly through town. But for a diplomatic mission, I learned very quickly that visas are our potholes, the core work that we do, and so we’ve focused on trying to make our services better, and our numbers expand. And to serve Indians with the opportunity to connect directly and in person with the United States through travel, and I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished over the last two years.”

The ambassador also addressed the issue of visas, calling them “potholes” for diplomatic missions. He reported that the US has increased visa issuance by over 60 per cent and eliminated wait times for most visa types. Garcetti expressed pride in the work of the US mission in India, which has streamlined visa processing, implemented new technologies, and even used AI to improve services.

Highlighting the work of the US mission here in India, Garcetti said, “Our team from Kolkata to Mumbai, Hyderabad to Chennai, and of course here in New Delhi and in centres around the country where we do some of the preliminary work for visas. We’ve worked to streamline visa processing to keep up with this incredible demand. Since becoming ambassador, we’ve increased our visas by more than 60 per cent, and eliminated wait times for all visa types except for first-time visitor visas, where the wait time is down 75 per cent from our peak, still much further to go, I know, but a great accomplishment, and we added a record number of new hires as consular officers to this mission. We’ve implemented new technologies. We’ve even used AI to analyse some of the ways we can get better and the result for a second year in a row, we issued more than one non-immigrant visa, including a record number of visitor visas. More than five million Indians currently hold a United States visa.”

“In 2024, the US mission to India met visa interview demand for all first-time student visa applicants, ensuring that every student could arrive on time and their parents could feel calm about their child going to the United States. The United States Citizen and Immigration Service has completed more than 1600 relative petitions. Our visa team issued tens of thousands of immigrant visas, and India is now the number one source of overseas adoptions for Americans as well. We’ve reunited more family members. We’re building families across the Indo-Pacific together and all of this incredible exchange and accomplishment is reflected in what is perhaps our greatest secret weapon in the United States of this relationship, the 4 million strong Indian diaspora that calls America home,” he added.

Lauding the contribution of the Indian diaspora in India-US bilateral ties, Garcetti said that the Indian community in the US enriches the tapestry of America and fuels the vibrant connection between the two nations. He noted that Indian students and Indian American immigrants help run companies and universities in the US.

Praising the Indian diaspora in the US, he said, “Every single day, because I know there’s been a lot in the news recently about them. They enrich the tapestry of America. They fuel the vibrant connections between our two countries. Indian students, and Indian-American immigrants are there helping run our world’s most important universities, our companies, and our research entities. They’re providing innovation and a record-strong tax base. They fill needs from rural medicine that can’t be met to small business operations that we have trouble finding employees. This makes America, in my opinion, a better and a stronger country.”

He urged his colleagues to continue to work on the India-US ties and even quoted Kabir’s words. He said, “To my colleagues, who will continue the work, wake up every day and imagine yourself looking back on this day with urgency, purpose, and determination. And yes, of course, patience. Working on the US-India relationship requires patience, as does work to grow supply chains, keep our world safe, and heal our planet. But may we each be a gardener in this work, in Kabir’s words, ‘dheere dheere re mana, dheere sab kuch hoye’, Slowly, slowly, oh mind, everything unfolds at its own pace.”

“The gardener may water with 100 pots of water, but the fruit only arrives in its season. So, as I prepare to leave this job as your ambassador, I see a garden full of Indians and Americans who are watering our work. I’ve seen the seeds planted. I’ve seen the sunshine come upon us here on this earth, and I can see the fruit begin to arrive with the spring that is ahead. Count on me to be there with you, India, as we taste the sweetness in the years to come,” he added.