Skip to main content

GRAND ADEU TO NIRUPAMA RAO



Nirupama Rao, Indian envoy to the US, bid farewell to her career of diplomacy, as members of the American diplomatic core and her counterparts from countries like China and Brazil gathered at a reception hosted in her honour by the State Department here. "It is difficult to imagine that so much time has passed," Rao told a select audience gathered at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the US State Department, which hosted a rare farewell reception for the Indian diplomat on the last day of her assignment last night. Rao, 62, in the four-decade of being a diplomat served as India's Foreign Secretary, External Affairs Ministry's spokesperson and envoy to important countries like China and Sri Lanka. "I leave with a great sense of optimism and hope and satisfaction that I have been able not only to learn so much but also to help build partnerships and forge relationship between India and a number of countries around the world," said Rao. US Secretary of State John Kerry sent a special message to Rao which was read on the occasion. He appreciated Rao's role in strengthening the important partnership between India and the US. "I wish you all the best in the day, months and years to come," Kerry said in the message. "An honour to be hosted to farewell @StateDept today. Touched by Secretary Kerry's message and presence of so many friends and colleagues," Rao tweeted after the reception. Rao is one of the few diplomats who has over 190,000 followers on the microblogging site. At the reception, she was described as "tireless champion" of Indo-US Strategic Partnership and that during her two-year tenure, the bilateral relationship has reached new heights. She was accompanied by her husband and former Chief Secretary of Karnataka Sudhakar Rao. Last week, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns hosted a luncheon for her at the State Department. The Indian-American community and the US India Business Council also hosted receptions for her last week. Rao also hosted a farewell reception at her residence last week, which was attended by top American diplomats and members of the Indian-American community. Among those attended the reception were US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Biswal and her predecessor Robert Blake; and US the Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy. Rao will be succeeded by S Jaishankar, currently India's Ambassador to China.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

YOGA IN MID AIR

With the stage set for International Yoga Day this Sunday, yoga asanas were performed mid-air at 35,000 feet above the sea-level, arguably the first time ever! The asanas called Upayoga or useful yoga were performed as a trial-run aboard the Delhi-Guwahati and Guwahati-Delhi flights of budget airline SpiceJet with over 180 passengers and crew. The Gurgaon-based carrier has teamed up with Isha Foundation of Sadhguru to conduct mid-air yoga sessions on its select Boeing flights on Sunday, which is being observed as International Yoga Day. Talking about the yogic postures demonstrated, Gita, a teacher with the Isha Foundation said the session was designed to reduce stress for passengers who travel long hours. "These are safe, simple postures which can be done by anyone, and can be practiced anytime and anywhere. They help in relieving stress accumulated in the upper neck and spine region," Gita told PTI. The passengers on board, who had no clue about the onboard yoga demonstr...
Post a Comment
Read more
BULLION ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS MODI The Bombay Bullion Association Ltd (BBA), the apex body of bullion and jewellery bodies in the country, has announced its support for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as BJP's prime ministerial candidate. BBA president Mohit Kamboj along with some others joined BJP in the presence of senior party leader Gopinath Munde here yesterday. BBA had extended its support to Modi as the UPA government had brought about a "policy paralysis" in the economy, Kamboj said. "There are over 50 lakh workers associated with the bullion and gold industry, which has been facing the brunt of the current policies of the UPA government. "We at BBA strongly believe that a Modi-led NDA government would normalise the industry by introducing friendly policies," he added. Members of Bharat Diamond Bourse have said they will host Modi at a function at Bandra-Kurla Complex here on Sept. 30. BJP president Rajnath Singh had last ...
Post a Comment
Read more

WHY RAHUL SO SARCASTIC...?

Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi should come up with "substantive arguments" to criticise the government's Make In India programme rather than ridiculing its logo. "Demagoguery may be good in election campaigns, but when you are in Parliament, we expect you to come up with concrete criticisms for which we will give reply. But to throw something like this may amuse some members, but overall it just projects the leader as not having gone into greater details," she told PTI. She was responding to the remarks of Gandhi who ridiculed the lion logo of Make In India as Narendra Modi's "babbar sher". The Congress VP during a debate in Parliament had made fun of Modi's ambitious 'Make in India' programme, saying Prime Minister has "created a babbar sher' (Asiatic Lion)" in which "clock and wheels are seen moving". Sitharaman said it was saddening that the vice preside...
Post a Comment
Read more