PATNA: Bihar’s turnaround story has now become a talking point at international fora. “Bihar is an ambassador of India’s poised promise of empowerment, economic growth and its indispensability in the new world order. The state has carved a niche for itself at the international level and particularly in the US,” said minister counselor for political affairs at the US embassy in New Delhi, Uzra Zeya, here on Wednesday.
Zeya, who has her roots in Bihar’s West Champaran district, was talking with students of the city-based Indian Institute of Business Management about Indo-US relations at the American Centre here.
“Bihar, the dynamic centre of India’s incredible economic and social movement, has been made a part of the consular district of the American embassy in New Delhi recently,” Zeya said, during her one-hour interactive session with the students.
The best the state has to offer — Madhubani paintings, litchis of Muzaffarpur, bananas of Hajipur (Vaishali), Digha’s (Patna) maldah (a variety of mango) and Bhojpuri movies — seems to have caught the attention of Americans like never before, the US diplomat said.
“Indo-US bilateral relations are improving. The workload at the US embassy in Delhi has increased. We processed over 6,00,000 non-immigrant visas for Indians wishing to travel to the US last year. The US government, over the past four years, has spent over $100 million to upgrade consular facilities in India to accommodate the increased travel visa requirement. Americans in large numbers are traveling to India to explore new opportunities,” Zeya told students.
“India’s IT revolution, which also includes several Biharis, has the world in awe. India’s emerging middle class, currently standing at about 300 million, is expected to double over the next 20 years. It will propel India’s growth and the Indo-US partnership to even more significant levels”, said Zeya.
The American diplomat, who has earlier served in France and other countries, urged Bihari students to pursue education in the United States. “The US government has a zero-tolerance policy against racial attacks on any visitors to the country. It is even pursuing the issue of recent racial attacks in some countries and urges the international community to seriously check such elements,” she added.
Read more:Â Bihar boost lauded by US diplomat – The Times of India