Fifth U.S. Consulate in India inaugurated in Bengaluru

Karnataka is home to nearly 700 U.S. companies and tens of thousands of U.S. citizens who live, visit, and work in the state.
Fifth U.S. consulate in India was inaugurated on Friday by External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, and U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti.
Fifth U.S. consulate in India was inaugurated on Friday by External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, and U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti. (Photo | X)
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NEW DELHI: The site for the fifth U.S. consulate in India, located in Bengaluru, was inaugurated on Friday by External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, and U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti.

“The consulate will expand on the more than thirty-year presence of the U.S. government in Bengaluru by increasing our diplomatic engagement on economic and political issues, conducting public diplomacy and people-to-people engagements, and augmenting existing U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service capabilities,” stated a release issued by the U.S. Embassy.

Karnataka is home to nearly 700 U.S. companies and tens of thousands of U.S. citizens who live, visit, and work in the state. It is also a hub for the rapidly growing bilateral space collaboration, highlighted by the planned launches this year of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite and a U.S. mission to send NASA-trained Indian astronauts to the International Space Station.

Speaking at the event, External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar remarked: “I do believe today it is within our grasp, within the realm of possibility, that we realise more fully the potential of the India-U.S. relationship... I see a great future for India and the United States, and I think, in that future, obviously Bengaluru will also have a salient part.”

Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar emphasised the significance of the consulate, stating: “This is not just an opening of the diplomatic mission, but a powerful symbol of the ties between the United States and India, particularly with Karnataka, a state that has been long at the heart of India’s growth and innovation.”

Ambassador Garcetti, speaking at the site dedication ceremony, said: “Our relationship truly extends from the seabed to the stars, and nowhere is that truer than here in Bengaluru. The innovation and entrepreneurship of this state – from semiconductors to space – is matched only by Silicon Valley in my home state of California. I’m so proud to dedicate our new consulate site and announce the expansion of the collaboration between the American people and the citizens of Karnataka.”

Bengaluru is a sister city to San Francisco, California, and Cleveland, Ohio, and serves as a key link with U.S. defence, technology, and aerospace companies. The U.S. government first established a presence in Bengaluru in 1993 with the opening of its Commercial Service post in the city.

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