By Reena Bhardwaj
New Delhi [India], July 17 : Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu, veteran diplomat of nearly four decades and former Indian envoy to Washington, joins the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) as Advisor to the Board and will be the Chairman of the USISPF Geopolitical Institute, USISPF said in an official statement.
As per the statement, in this new avatar, Ambassador Sandhu will lend his diplomatic acumen to guide USISPF's strategic engagements on the India-Middle-East-Europe-Economic Corridor (IMEC), the Indo-Pacific Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), and the I2U2 (India, Israel, USA, and UAE) initiatives.
Ambassador Sandhu worked closely with USISPF during his four-year tenure in Washington, before calling time on his decorated 35-year diplomatic career in February 2024.
As one of New Delhi's finest diplomatic stalwarts, Ambassador Sandhu was a key architect in strengthening US-India relations through his four stints in the United States, three of them in Washington, DC.
USISPF said that commenting on his new appointment, Ambassador Sandhu remarked, "I am delighted to join the US India Strategic Partnership Forum as Chairman of its Geopolitical Institute. I have had the opportunity to work on as well as follow the India-US story for over three decades. The relationship has evolved into a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, underpinned by shared values and interests, matured in character and nurtured by the vibrant people-to-people ties between the two countries. Prime Minister Modi and President Trump have imparted renewed vigour through the India-US COMPACT that focuses on key sectors including defence, technology, energy and trade. USISPF, led by Mukesh, has played a significant role in forging closer ties between the governments, industry, innovators and academia of India and US. As we navigate through an increasingly uncertain world, I look forward to contributing meaningfully in the new role, towards further deepening this most consequential partnership."
Under his diplomatic stewardship, US-India relations reached zenith with deep collaboration in the fields of energy, critical and emerging technology, education, space and robust defense ties, with the highlight being the historic state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2023, President Joe Biden's first visit to India as Commander-in-chief for a momentous G20 summit in New Delhi, and also organizing President Trump's maiden visit to India during his first term in February 2020, before the world shut down with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ambassador Sandhu, previously served in Washington as second in command to Dr Jaishankar, when he was then the serving Ambassador and Ambassador Sandhu was the Deputy Chief of Mission. Together, they both wrote the beginning chapters of Prime Minister Modi's engagement with the United States with the historic Madison Square Garden address in 2014, USISPF said in its statement.
"The most important strategic partnership of the 21st century, one between Washington and New Delhi, requires the art of deft diplomacy and sagacious statecraft. New Delhi has always sent its brightest minds to Washington, but few have come more experienced in understanding the contours of U.S.-India relations than Ambassador Sandhu, who in his first stint in Washington, as the First Secretary (Political) as he formed crucial relations on Capitol Hill, with both Democrat and Republican lawmakers, during a time of sanctions from the Clinton Administration "said Dr. Mukesh Aghi, President and CEO of USISPF. "Today, this relationship is the most defining partnership of the 21st century and one that has been made possible with sagacious diplomats such as Ambassador Sandhu, who have worked on strengthening ties from semiconductors to supply chains, energy to education and defence drones to diaspora dialogues. Having worked closely with Ambassador Sandhu during his diplomatic days, I am eager to engage with him in this new avatar, this time with his new USISPF hat".
As per the USISPF, with the Indo-Pacific a priority, Ambassador Sandhu will lend to USISPF's work in the Quad, as four democracies strengthen defence ties, vaccine diplomacy in healthcare, energy partnerships, and critical and emerging technology.
With the importance of regional stability and energy economy of West Asia, the key focus lies in strengthening infrastructure, supply chains and economic corridors through the IMEC. The I2U2 came into existence during Ambassador Sandhu's time as the lead envoy in Washington, and USISPF remains grateful for his diplomatic erudition in guiding our efforts to strengthen commercial ties through multilateral settings, USISPF noted.
Apart from high-level diplomatic dossiers and engagements, Ambassador Sandhu forged strong bonds of friendship with the diaspora and strengthened people-to-people ties, the secret sauce and catalyst of this relationship.
USISPF welcomed Ambassador Sandhu to his new role and expressed excitement to work with him.
USISPF is a non-profit, non-governmental, and non-partisan organization with offices in Washington, DC and New Delhi. USISPF's members include global companies with a combined market valuation of over USD 10 trillion and more than 6 million employees. USISPF bridges the gap between business and government by fostering closer public-private partnerships across the two countries.