Washington: Tulsi Gabbard, the US Director of National Intelligence, wrote in a post on X that she looked forward to strengthening the US-India ties.
“It was an honour to welcome India’s Prime Minister @narendramodi back to the United States, and I look forward to continuing to strengthen the US-India friendship,” she wrote on Friday.
Gabbard posted the message in response to the Prime Minister’s post about their meeting on Wednesday.
“Met USA’s Director of National Intelligence, @TulsiGabbard in Washington DC. Congratulated her on her confirmation. Discussed various aspects of the India-USA friendship, of which she’s always been a strong votary.”
Gabbard was the Prime Minister’s first major visitor during his recently concluded visits. She called on him at Blair House, a US government facility where Modi stayed, on Wednesday evening shortly after his arrival and just hours after taking the oath of office after her confirmation earlier in the day.
Gabbard, the new top spy of the US, is an old Indian hand. Also, as a member of the US House of Representatives, as a Democrat, she was co-chair of the India Caucus and had developed a personal relationship with the Prime Minister, who had sent gifts through an emissary to her wedding in 2015 in Hawaii.
The Trump cabinet, in effect, has two former co-chairs of the India Caucus. The other is Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, who was a member of the House of Representatives in his previous career as a Republican politician. He also co-chaired the caucus with Ro Khanna, a Democrat.
Waltz was the prime minister’s second visitor, calling on him on Thursday morning. His visit was followed shortly by Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of SpaceX and Tesla, who came with his family, including X, the five-year-old who is seen perched on his father’s shoulder in settings as varied as the Oval Office and the corridors of the US Capitol, which is home to US congress. Vivek Ramaswamy was the Prime Minister’s third high-profile visitor to Blair House.
–IANS
