Kenneth Juster — having recently been nominated to serve as the next US ambassador to India — made a statement last week highlighting his past experiences in US-India affairs and emphasizing the honor he felt in being selected as the premier US representative to India. In the statement, Juster highlighted the bipartisan nature of US friendship with India, as well as his own past efforts to facilitate US-India diplomacy and business ties. He explained that “India and the United States share common values and a commitment to democracy, pluralism, and the rule of law. The Administration views India as a leading power and a true friend, whose influence internationally is important and growing. A strong India and a strong US-India relationship are in America’s interest.”
In the weeks since his nomination, Juster has been lauded by both Indian and American media outlets for his long history of support for increased US-India ties, and his experience in foreign policy at high levels of both government and academia. Serving in the Department of State under George H. W. Bush, and the Department of Commerce under George W. Bush, as well as spending five months as an international economic advisor to President Trump, Juster is no stranger to US government service or diplomacy. He has also spent time in the academic world, completing several degree programs and fellowships with Harvard University, and serving as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Diplomacy.
India has been a historically important partner to the US in business, security, and culture, and the relationship between the world’s two largest democracies will be one of the most important international partnerships in the coming decades. The East-West Center in Washington’s newest publication: India Matters for America/America Matters for India highlights the explosion of economic, demographic, and diplomatic ties currently taking place.
View Juster’s full statement here.
Peter Valente is a Programs Coordinator at the East-West Center in Washington