We are tracking establishment of US consulate in Bengaluru, says Jaishankar

Indian authorities track establishment of American Consulate in Bengaluru, with External Affairs Minister pushing for quick progress.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on April 15 said the Indian authorities were tracking the establishment of the American Consulate in Bengaluru. 

“We are tracking the establishing of the consulate. What I heard from the American side is that they have to go through certain process where they have to source it and get approvals. I think that They are moving along that,” Mr. Jaishankar told media persons in Bengaluru. 

“I am there to constantly remind them that this consulate has to be done quickly. Because I tell them that whenever you set up the consulate, I would like to come here on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Setting up the consulate was the request which the prime minister had made when he had gone to the U.S. last year,” he said. 

“Setting up of U.S. consulate in Bengaluru is an achievement particularly as a Foreign Minister. Certainly when I come to Bengaluru, it is an achievement that I should talk,” he remarked. 

The U.S. will open two new consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad while India will establish a mission in Seattle to boost people-to-people relationships, a senior White House official had said in June 2023.

India has five consulates in the U.S. in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta, apart from the embassy in Washington.

The U.S. embassy in New Delhi is one of the largest US diplomatic missions in the world. The embassy coordinates the activities of four consulates — in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad — ensuring that the U.S.-India relationship is strong throughout the country, according to the information on its website.