India Caucus Co-Chairs Sherman and Holding Launch New Parliamentarian Dialogues

Today the United States and India announced the establishment of an annual U.S.-India Parliamentary Exchange, an initiative spearheaded by Congressmen Brad Sherman and George Holding, the Co-Chairs of the House Caucus on India and Indian Americans.

The announcement of the U.S.-India Parliamentary Exchange coincided with the U.S.-India 2+2 Ministerial, an annual meeting between the two nation's top diplomats and defense officials. The new exchange will feature Members of the India Caucus in the United States and Indian parliamentarians traveling to each other's respective countries every other year to discuss issues of strategic importance to the bilateral relationship. The U.S.-India Parliamentary Exchange is expected to begin sometime in 2020.

"India and the United States are united by more than common interests— we are also democracies with strong legislative branches that play a critical role in our countries' foreign policies," said Congressman Sherman. "With the United States and India significantly strengthening our political, economic, and security ties in recent decades, it's long past time to establish a stronger connection between our legislatures to propel this relationship even further. I look forward to working with Indian Members of Parliament to achieve this outcome."

"India is among America's closest and most important allies. Our dynamic and wide-ranging relationship is rooted in our shared principles of freedom and democracy," said Congressman Holding. "The U.S.-India Parliamentary Exchange will provide a crucial platform enabling lawmakers from both nations to develop the personal relationships and mutual understanding needed to further deepen and strengthen the U.S.-India alliance."

The U.S.-India Parliamentary Exchange was announced as part of the final Joint Statement of the U.S.-India 2+2 meeting. This year's 2+2 meeting was hosted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper in Washington DC alongside their counterparts from India, Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.