Sen. Mark Warner to accompany President Obama to India

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, (D-VA), co-chair of the bipartisan Senate India Caucus, will travel with President Obama to attend India’s Republic Day celebration marking the 65th anniversary of the adoption of India’s constitution.

The U.S. delegation will arrive in New Dehli on Sunday to attend Republic Day events and meet with Indian leaders to discuss strengthening and expanding the US-India strategic partnership. Other members of Congress traveling with the President include California Rep. Ami Bera, the only Indian-American member of Congress, and New York Rep. Joe Crowley, former chair of the House India Caucus. The delegation is scheduled to return to Washington early Wednesday.

“I am very pleased to represent Virginia, and my colleagues in the Senate’s bipartisan India Caucus, as part of the President’s delegation,” Sen. Warner said. “As two of the world’s largest democracies, and with the incredible Indian American population that contributes so much to Virginia’s culture and commerce, it is critical for us to continue to deepen and broaden the existing framework of partnership and friendship between the United States and India.”

This will be Sen. Warner’s third trip to India since 2005.

In Jan. 2012, Sen. Warner led a five-member congressional delegation on a visit to India. The delegation met with top government and business leaders in New Dehli, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Kolkata, exploring opportunities to expand business, trade, defense and cultural relationships between the two countries. While there, Sen. Warner announced a new partnership agreement between the Virginia Community College System and the Wadhwani Foundation, a leading nonprofit foundation, to expand the training curriculum for skilled trades within India.

In April 2005, then-Gov. Warner was the first Virginia Governor to lead an economic development delegation on a visit to India. The six-day visit included meetings and events in New Dehli, Bangalore and Mumbai. Virginia exported $102 million in goods and services to India in 2004. By 2014, Virginia exports to India totaled $224 million, according to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.