New Delhi, April 28 (IANS): US Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer on Thursday announced his resignation from the top diplomatic post, citing personal and professional reasons. He is expected to leave India in June, a statement from his embassy said here.
"When I accepted this job two years ago, I told President (Barack) Obama that I would serve for two years, but that family considerations would be front and centre after that," Roemer was quoted as saying in the statement.
The ambassador noted that he has two sons who will be leaving for college in the next 14 months and he would like his parents and in-laws to be able to spend more time with his children. He also said he had accomplished his strategic objectives set two years ago.
"For me and for my entire family, the past two years have been a time of incredible experiences, warm friendships, and meaningful partnerships," said the ambassador. "US-India relationship, what my friend President Obama calls the defining partnership of the 21st century, has progressed to the global stage. I am very proud to have led the team responsible for deepening and broadening the strategic partnership of this critical bilateral relationship, which is one of the cornerstones of our foreign policy."
He said the India relationship was on a positive historic trajectory that is changing the way the two nations were creating economic opportunity for citizens, educating the leaders of tomorrow, and ensuring safe and secure communities. "The horizons of our relationship truly know no limits," he said, and recalled what he called was a landmark 2009 visit and White House dinner honouring Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the history-making trip by Obama to India in 2010.
"President Obama committed America's support to India for a permanent UN Security Council seat and removed nine Indian companies from the entities list. We have entered into a strategic dialogue on Afghanistan and a new joint economic partnership for capacity building."
The ambassador said he was proud to have worked with the Government of India to sign the Counterterrorism Cooperation Initiative, providing groundbreaking joint US-India work on mega-city policing, forensic lab training, intelligence sharing and sharing best government-wide practices.
He said during his tenure as ambassador, the US-India defense partnership has also expanded exponentially, and noted the sale of C130J aircraft and the pending sale of C-17s to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.
