Conveying greetings of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and the government and people of India, Arun Kumar Singh, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Washington, who keynoted the dinner on the second day of the 27th Convention of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, lauded the AAPI for its contributions beyond the call of duty both in the United States and India.
Speaking to nearly 1,000 Indian-American physicians and their families attending the convention at the sprawling Wall Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Singh said, "You have made a major contribution to US society, and you have made India and Indians proud."
"You have worked in virtually every part of the United States, in urban areas, inner cities, rural areas, in peripheral areas and going beyond your professional work, you have also made contributions through volunteerism, through relief work, through free clinics and through charity," he said.
And, Singh said, these efforts extended well beyond the borders of he US into India where "you have also been involved in projects in medical care and in humanitarian assistance -- and all of this is deeply appreciated."
Singh, who stepped in to substitute for Ambassador Meera Shankar, who was called to New Delhi for consultations, said it was also "a privilege for me to be here with you at a time when all over the world, including in the United States, there is tremendous appreciation of what just happened in India -- a historic election with an electorate of 740 million people -- more than the combined electorate of United States and Europe."
He said even though the election process went on for several weeks, once the counting of the votes began, "in a couple of hours, the trends were known. In several hours the results were out because the voting is entirely electronic even in the most remote parts of the country."
Singh said, then quoting prime minister Singh, declared that over the last several years India has been recording a economic growth of 9 percent, and last year, despite the global economic crisis, "we still managed a growth rate of 7 percent".
But, he acknowledged that "more needs to be done in the coming period because more than 100 million people in India still don't have access to commercial energy, and more than 200 million people in India, still live below the poverty line. And, therefore, in the coming period, there would be even more emphasis on inclusive growth on
Singh said in his interactions with AAPI members since his arrival in Orlando, many had told him that "health care and education were areas where you were also wanting to be involved in India."
He said that this coincided with the visit of Under Secretary of State William Burns to India, during which it was announced that a joint working group on education would be set up between the two countries."
Singh said the AAPI convention was taking place "at a time when India-US relations are really poised for the next level of partnership."
He mentioned the recent consummation of the civilian nuclear deal between India and the US, "in which many of you played a very important role in its realization."
Singh said this deal "has led to a situation where new areas of cooperation in energy, in trade, in investment, in defense cooperation, are being looked at and there is tremendous potential for the fiuture."
But, he emphasized that "the real thrust of any relationship is the people-to-people relationship. And, again, that is an area where many of you have been standard-bearers and leaders for what has been done between the two countries."
"Today, people acknowledge that more than 2.5 million Indian Americans are contributing not only to US society, but to the strengthening of India-US relations," he added.
Singh said "another not very-well known fact is there are more than 92,000 Indian students in the United States. And, if you multiply that figure with the average fees in a US educational institution, you get a figure of $3-4 billion that is being invested by the people and government of India in the US educational system."
He said, the Indian embassy continued to "look forward to working with all of you to strengthen your engagement and contributions to India and to the India-US relationship."
Shankar in a message to AAPI, lauded the organization -- arguably the largest and most influential international medical group in the United States -- for "its proactive role in the healthcare legislative arena."
She said, "AAPI over the years, has become a voice to be reckoned with. I am also glad that AAPI and several of its individual members are contributing to projects in India, which are helping to improve health-care facilities there."
"This is an area of priority for meeting our social developments goals and improving the quality of life of our people," Shankar said.
