Washington, December 1 - Given the ever-warming trend and the rapid strides in India-US relations, a top Obama official has gone on record to declare that “America and India have reached a moment of great opportunity”.

Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns pronounced this at a reception for Indian Ambassador Mrs. Nirupama Rao, a rare honor accorded by the House India Caucus, formally called the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans. The reception followed closely in the heels of a similar event hosted by the powerful Senate India Caucus, on Capitol Hill.

Paying tribute to the tremendous work of the House India Caucus, Burns lauded its current co-chairs, Congressmen Joseph Crowley (Democrat-New York) and Ed Royce (Republican-California) “for their leadership in bringing our two countries even closer together .. With your support and that of all of our colleagues in Congress, our two countries can shape for the better not only the future of our two societies, but of the entire international community in the new century unfolding before us”, he said.

The key State Department official, who is expected to visit India later this month for wide-ranging talks with his counterparts, noted, “It truly is a mark of the broad support that our relations with India enjoy that the House and Senate Caucuses are among the largest, if not the largest, bipartisan Caucuses in Congress, today. That support from across the political spectrum has helped drive the truly remarkable trajectory in US-India relations across the past decade”, he said.

Describing Ambassador Rao as “an extraordinary diplomat and a wonderful friend”, Burns pointed out that in her previous position as India’s Foreign Secretary, she “helped shape every advance that we made in US-India relations in recent years. She has also taken on some of the toughest accounts in India’s diplomacy, serving as Ambassador in Beijing, Colombo, and as Foreign Secretary overseeing a ground-breaking thaw in relations between India and Pakistan ... Ambassador Rao embodies the intellect, the energy and the creativity that are powering India’s rise. Both India and the US are very lucky to have you here”, he told an eminent gathering of influential lawmakers, policy wonks, members of the press and Indian-American community activists.

Besides the co-chairs of the House India Caucus, other key members of Congress who attended the reception were: Gary Ackerman (Democrat-New York); Jim Moran (Democrat-Virginia); Howard Berman (Democrat-California), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Nita Lowey of New York), Member of the House Appropriations Committee and Ranking Democrat of the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee; Charles Rangel (Democrat-New York); Shelley Berkley (Democrat-Nevada); Eliot Engel (Democrat-New York); Gregory Meeks (Democrat-New York); Linda Sanchez (Democrat-California); Jan Schakowsky (Democrat-Illinois); Steven Rothman (Democrat-New Jersey); Rush Holt (Democrat-New Jersey); Mike Quigley (Democrat-Illinois); Steven Chabot (Republican-Ohio); and Bill Posey (Republican-Florida). These lawmakers are among India’s staunchest, steadfast supporters on Capitol Hill!

Looking around the packed room, Congressman Royce remarked there are “those of us who recognize that we want to have our closest relationships with those who share our common values”. He predicted, “the future is very bright for Indian-Americans with two sitting governors” (Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Nikki Randhawa Haley of South Carolina) and others occupying high-level federal, state and local offices.

But, Royce cautioned, “we also face a challenge together and that challenge is international terrorism, and those who hate political pluralism and democracy in India also hate those same values here in the US”. India, he said, “experienced terrorism before 9/11. After 9/11, we have a better understanding of these challenges. It is now our responsibility and our mission to work closely with our ally, not only on the issue of terrorism, but also on the issue of bridging this economic relationship, liberalizing trade between India and the US, getting Americans to understand the benefits of a closer relationship between our country and India”.

Royce noted with pride that when the House India Caucus was founded in 1993, “there were only 12 members. Now we have 160", he said.

Drawing attention to the presence of Deputy Secretary Burns at the reception, Congressman Crowley said, “It is a sign of the growing relationship between India and our great nation”. He described the top administration official as “a champion of India-US relations”.

The lawmaker said, “I know that Bill has a strong team working on India at the State Department and my office very much appreciates all the hard work of his office in building this important relationship. I also know that Secretary Clinton is committed to this relationship and its growth”.

To Ambassador Rao, Crowley said, “this is a maturing relationship and one that will continue to mature and grow in no small part because I know of your background and also (because) your people’s skills are impeccable”. He wished her a “long, productive and successful” stint in Washington.

Ambassador Rao spoke in her signature style, clearly and concisely, extolling the House India Caucus for being “a tremendous source of strength in promoting India-US relations for almost two decades now”. Since its founding, the envoy noted that “the Caucus has done a commendable job in focusing public opinion and the attention of governments of both our countries on the importance of our partnership even at a time when it was difficult to imagine that we could achieve the depth and the expanse of the relationship as we enjoy today. The bipartisan support that the Caucus showcases speaks of the enduring strength of our ties”, she said.

The ambassador underscored that the India-US relationship “goes beyond a merely bilateral construct and it has a much wider and much deeper significance for peace, freedom and prosperity of the entire humanity. Indeed, India-US strategic relations, our strategic partnership is a pillar of stability amidst many uncertainties that surround us - political, security and economic - in the world today”, she said.

Rao noted, it’s such “an exciting time in India-US relations when we have a virtually limitless horizon of what we can do together. Our futures are conjoined in so many ways. I feel most fortunate and blessed to be India’s ambassador to this great nation at such a time and to have the opportunity to make a contribution to this unfolding, I would say, almost epic saga of a great new partnership built upon common values, converging interests and a shared vision of the world”, she told the gathering.

Hailing US lawmakers for their role in fortifying bilateral ties, Ambassador Rao readily acknowledged that the “positive vibrations of our relationship are most evident every time I visit the US Congress. In my long diplomatic career, I have seldom witnessed such goodwill and desire to improve relations between our two countries in such a high office and this very deep commitment to do better and work towards building a more robust relationship between India and the United States”, she said.

Rao commended the current co-chairs of the House India Caucus who, she pointed out, are “two of the staunchest supporters of strong India-US relations and amongst the most influential voices for the Indian-American community on the Hill”. To Congressmen Crowley and Royce, she said, “You are great friends of India and we look upon your efforts in bringing our peoples and governments closer and we look upon these efforts with great appreciation and deep admiration”.

The envoy also lauded the role played by Indian-Americans in strengthening India-US ties. “I would say to our friends from the Indian-American community that your vigor and your drive has added new vitality in our relationship and that you will always remain a valuable link bonding our two nations”, she said, to much applause from the illustrious gathering. That this Caucus “recognizes the seminal role that the Indian-American community has to play in building the India-US partnership is a testimony to people’s power in our engagement, something which is quite relevant and, indeed, appropriate for the world’s largest and oldest democracies”, Rao added.

In a press release, Congressman Quigley stated: “India is a diverse and complex nation and a vital international partner to the United States. The importance of India to America’s economy and national security cannot be overestimated. Ambassador Rao’s expertise and knowledge will no doubt play an important role in further developing US-India relations”.

At the reception, Riti Bhalla, a young television hostess from New York, rendered the national anthems of India and the US. She extolled Congressman Crowley for building and strengthening relations between the two countries. “He cares so much for Indians and Indian-Americans that I suspect he was an Indian in his previous life”, Riti said, to much laughter.