Washington: With the rapid expansion of India-US ties, which are expected to deepen in the coming years, it is time to upgrade the India Desk at the South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department to a full fledged India Office, an official report has said.
In its latest report, the State Department's Inspector General has also recommended the reunion of the South and Central Asia Bureau with that Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP) that was carved out when US President Barack Obama appointed Richard Holbrooke as his point man for Afghanistan and Pakistan. But, such a move only created duplicity, it said.
Currently the India desk is combined with the desks for five other countries, including Bangladesh. But, the report said it is the practice of the Department of State to provide a separate office for the countries with which the United States has robust, complex relationships.
"Nations of comparable importance and with important bilateral relationships, such as China (including Mongolia), Russia, Cuba, Canada, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, have their own offices," it said.
The Inspector General concluded that time has come to give serious consideration to creating a separate office for India and Bhutan, alongside a separate office for the other countries in SCA/INSB office.
"Over the last 15 years, the US relationship with India has both expanded and deepened, but no action has been taken to adjust the design of organisational units to accommodate the changed situation," it pointed out.
No comments:
Post a Comment