Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to the United States will be an early milestone in the new government’s foreign policy. The visit is expected to inject vigour into the India-U.S. bilateral. The key areas of interest for the Modi-Obama meet are expected to be defence cooperation, energy security, and advancing bilateral trade and investment. The visit is also expected to advance the India-U.S. Strategic partnership.
On Septermber 10, Gateway House hosted Thomas Vajda, the new U.S. Consul General in Mumbai to discuss the next chapter in India-U.S. relations and the areas in which the two administrations can work together to the benefit of both economies. He was in conversation with Neelam Deo, Director, Gateway House.
This event was the 3rd in the Gateway House G20 Series for the year 2014-2015.
Thomas L. Vajda is the new U.S. Consul General in Mumbai. During his 23 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, Consul General Vajda served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon, Burma (Myanmar), as well as overseas postings in the Balkans, South Korea, and Germany. His service in Washington has been in the areas of East Asian and Pacific affairs, weapons removal and abatement, and human resources. Immediately prior to coming to Mumbai, he was the State Department’s Deputy Coordinator for Assistance to the Middle East, supporting efforts to coordinate all U.S. assistance to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in response to the Arab Spring and subsequent developments in the region.
Neelam Deo is director at Gateway House, prior to which she served as consul general in New York. She has been the Indian ambassador to Denmark and Ivory Coast with concurrent accreditation to several West African countries. She has served in Indian embassies in Washington D.C, Bangkok and Rome. During her assignments in the Ministry of External Affairs, she was joint secretary for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and the Maldives. Neelam Deo holds a graduate degree from the Delhi School of Economics.
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