The 32-member Senate India Caucus was formally launched on Capitol Hill on April 29. Seen in the photo are the Caucus Co-Chairs Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), third and fourth from right, respectively. Also seen in the photo are India’s Ambassador at Large Bisham Agnihotri, far right, India’s departing Ambassador to the U.S. Lalit Mansingh, fourth from right, Senator Trent Lott (R-MI), who chairs the Senate Rules Committee, fifth from right; Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), sixth from right; and Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT), seventh from right; with leaders of the Indian-American community who traveled to Washington for the event from different parts of the nation. (Photo: Mohammed Jaffer/SnapsIndia)

Washington - The Senate India Caucus, the first-ever country-specific bipartisan coalition body in the U.S. Senate, was inaugurated on April 29, signaling a major diplomatic victory for India –– the only country that has a Caucus in both the chambers of the U.S. Congress dedicated to promoting better relations between India and the U.S.

The caucus is co-chaired by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), both of whom have visited India and are impressed with the country and its potential for growth.

Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans has about 185 members and the Senate India Caucus has started with 32 members.

Making a formal announcement about the caucus at a simple but well-attended event on Capitol Hill, Sen. Cornyn said: “The U.S. and India share a commitment to freedom, representative government, free-market principles and the war against terror. So the Senate India Caucus will provide a forum for U.S. Senators and Indian leaders to expand on areas of agreement and candidly discuss issues of concern.”

Cornyn said that even though a firm plan of action has yet to be evolved, one of objectives of the Caucus was to understand India better and discuss a number of issues, including outsourcing, on which he said: “We have some disagreements. We also have the need for better understanding, and that India and the U.S. had nothing to fear from one another. We have great potential.”

Cornyn spelt out the primary goals that the Senate India Caucus proposed to achieve: Support for the war on terror; deeper defense relations between the two countries; opportunities for trade and investment that benefit both sides; and stronger economic ties; besides advancing peace, stability and democracy in both nations.

Several Senators, including Trent Lott (R-MS), Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Kay B. Hutchison (R-TX), Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) attended the event. Also present was India’s Ambassador to the U.S. Lalit Mansingh and a host of representatives of the Indian-American community.

Sen. Cronyn also read out a message from U.S. Ambassador to India David Mulford, who congratulated the Senators for launching the caucus. “Its formation represents another significant step forward in the continuing transformation of the U.S.-India relationship,” Mulford noted, and added: “The U.S. and India today share a new sense of partnership that can be used to further our shared national interests. In the words of President (George W.) Bush, India is a growing world power with which we have common strategic interests.”

Sen. Clinton spoke of the growing importance of India and South Asia in the world and expressed the hope that the Caucus would contribute its bit to move both countries towards a strategic partnership. She said she “represented 250,000 Indian Americans from New York state and hundreds and thousands of South Asians” and wanted more two-way investment between the U.S. and India.

She said her visit to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka paved the way for the then President Bill Clinton to visit India. “He did what he could to bring to higher visibility the importance of India and American relations. We have been building on that since then.” She noted that the Clinton visit helped spark anng that the Bush administration has certainly built on and “we are pleased to be supporting that effort with the creation of this Caucus and to expanding areas of cooperation. And we do hope it will provide the forum for discussion of several issues, ranging from security to terror to the threat posed by the proliferation of weapons.”

Earlier, she and Cornyn paid a tribute to Ambassador Mansingh and his work in fostering better India-U.S. relations. “He has served his country ably and we are particularly happy to inaugurate this Caucus today as a gift on his birthday.”

Mansingh turned 63 on April 29 after a distinguished career of more than 40 years in the diplomatic service.

Replying to a question on nuclear weapons during the brief question-and-answer session that followed the speeches, Clinton said it was time for India and the U.S. to lead in a new century of cooperation to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

“I don’t have a set idea on how best to do it, but it is imperative and urgent that we must include not only India but also our friends Pakistan and Israel to work with us to prevent rogue states like North Korea from not only obtaining nuclear weaponry but also having the potential to both intimidate others that use those weapons. So I hope we are going to have a new beginning about how to define an antiproliferation agenda that would include India and U.S. as leaders,” she said.

Sens. Lott, Lieberman, Hutchison and Bingaman, and Senate Majority Leader Frist and Senate Minority Leader Daschle spoke of building bridges of cooperation and better understanding between the two nations through the work of the Senate Caucus.

Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, said: “The formation of the Senate India Caucus is a welcome addition to this Congress. It is now more than ever essential that this wonderfully diverse and culturally rich nation have a strong voice in both houses of Congress, as their voice all over the country and world is getting louder.”

In his speech, Mansingh spoke about India-U.S. cooperation in the economic sphere. He said U.S. exports to India rose 22 percent in 2003 and U.S. investments grew to $3.5 billion last year. Currently, India is the largest trading partner of the U.S. He said India’s middle class is “hungry” not only for McDonald and Pizza Hut fast food, but also for various other goods and services.

“So it could be the biggest market in the world for possible investors,” he added.

Mansingh also paid a special tribute to the Indian-American community “without whose help it would not have been possible to have formed the Senate Caucus in such a short time.”

Members of the Senate India Caucus

John Cornyn (R-TX), Co-Chair Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Co-Chair Evan Bayh (D-IN) Robert Bennett (R-UT) Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) Barbara Boxer, D-CA John Breaux (D-LA) Saxy Chambliss (R-GA) Thad Cochran (R-MS) Norm Coleman (R-MN) Mike Crapo (R-ID) Tom Daschle (D-SD) Richard Durbin (D-IL) Peter G. Fitzgerald (R-IL) Bill Frist (R-TN) Bob Graham (D-FL) Charles Grassley (R-IA) Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Kay B. Hutchison (R-TX) Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) Carl Levin (D-MI) Joe Lieberman (D-CT) Trent Lott (R-MS) Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) Don Nickles (R-OK) John Rockefeller (D-WV) Rick Santorum (R-PA) Charles Schumer (D-NY) Arlen Specter (R-PA) Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Ted Stevens (R-AK) Ron Wyden (D-OR)