Embassy New Delhi, India and Constituent Posts - OIG - US ...

Executive Direction
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
The mission is doing an impressive job of expanding and deepening the bilateral
relationship with India, thus advancing a major foreign policy objective of the United States. As
the context section makes clear, this is a difficult process requiring a major commitment of time
and energy at all levels of embassy staff, particularly the most senior.
The Ambassador and DCM have a traditional division of responsibilities and work well
together. The Ambassador concentrates on public diplomacy and policy issues, including
influencing the policy process in Washington and New Delhi. The DCM oversees the operations
of the mission. The Ambassador devotes considerable time to public diplomacy, meeting Indian
citizens around the country from all walks of life, demonstrating that the United States cares
about social and environmental concerns as well as national security and commercial issues, and
about the poor and disadvantaged as well as the influential. His visits include meetings with local
officials and promoting commercial interests. A senior embassy officer noted that the
Ambassador has the highest public profile of any diplomat in India, which he reinforces through
social as well as traditional media.
The Ambassador focuses on key issues such as counterterrorism, security, and the
growing defense relationship, including military sales. Important progress has been made in
these areas to improve communication and collaboration between the two countries, including
the path-breaking Counterterrorism Cooperation Initiative. The Ambassador has also reached out
to the U.S. embassies in Pakistan and Afghanistan to try to find ways to work together to
promote dialogue and cooperation among the three countries, and he and the mission forged an
interagency consensus on a strategy for countering a specific regional terrorist threat. He also
signaled his intention to play a stronger role in commercial issues as part of the President’s
National Export Initiative. This came on the heels of a visit by Commerce Secretary Locke in
which the Secretary and the Ambassador teamed up for a series of productive meetings with the
business community and key Indian officials.
The Ambassador has successfully promoted visits of top U.S. officials and private-sector
representatives. He and the mission team and their counterparts from Washington organized a
remarkably successful visit of the President to India in November 2010, in which the tone and
the substance of the bilateral relationship were advanced significantly. He and the embassy team
worked intensively with the Indian Government and Washington agencies to secure several key
deliverables for the visit. The mission and its leadership should be justifiably proud of this major
achievement.
The embassy is fortunate to have a country team of experienced, competent section and
agency heads who respect one another and work well together. Each has emphasized how
important this cooperation is in enabling them to manage their large and growing responsibilities.
The Department section heads, relevant agency heads, and the front office also do an excellent
job in coordinating the work of their counterparts in the four consulates general.
To coordinate the work of the embassy, the Ambassador chairs a weekly meeting of the
country team and a brief meeting every morning of a small group consisting of the DCM;
counselors for political, economic, and public affairs; and the senior Defense representative. He
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SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED