Indian Consulate's new Chancery premises inaugurated in Seattle

Seattle, Aug 27 (IANS) The new Chancery premises of the Consulate General of India in Seattle, was officially inaugurated by Ambassador of India to the United States, Vinay Kwatra in the presence of Governor of Washington State Bob Ferguson, US Senator Maria Cantwell and Mayor of Seattle Bruce Harrell.

Addressing an audience of several elected leaders and prominent Indian American community leaders, Governor Ferguson welcomed the opening of the new Indian consulate as a "landmark development", especially in deepening bilateral ties between India and the US Pacific Northwest region.

The new Chancery premises of the Indian Consulate are located in the heart of downtown Seattle at the prestigious Federal Reserve Building, and spread over two floors. While the first floor houses the Consular section and is open for visitors of consular services and public dealing, the 11th floor houses Administrative and Commercial wings. The location had earlier served as the Seattle branch of Federal Bank of San Francisco from 1951 to 2008 and has been listed in the US Federal Government’s National Register of Historic Places since 2013.

It may be recalled that the announcement for commencement of the sixth Indian Consulate in the US was made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2023 and within five months, it commenced its operations from a temporary location in Seattle in November 2023.

Following initiation of its consular operations in July 2024, the Consulate has provided consular services to a total of nearly 23,722 applicants from its consular jurisdiction area of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska.

The inaugural ceremony was also followed by a brief interaction of the Ambassador of India with representatives of the Indian American community. During the visit, Ambassador Kwatra also interacted with senior leadership of tech companies from the Greater Seattle area, as well as with elected leadership of Washington State, and leaders of Indian origin elected to public office.

Earlier this month, a unique initiative, the 'India Pavilion' set up at the First 'India Day Parade' organised in Downtown Seattle as part of the 79th Independence Day celebrations featured more than 30 booths that were set up to represent the 28 States of India along with several thematic exhibits. Each booth showcased distinctive One District One Product (ODOP) items, accompanied by descriptions highlighting their cultural and historical significance.

Several top dignitaries who graced the occasion as guests of honour witnessed first hand the true Indian spirit of Unity in Diversity and also got to know more about ODOP which aims at manifesting the vision of Prime Minister Modi to foster balanced regional development across all districts of the country and remains dedicated to promoting 'Brand India' on the global stage.

This included Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, US Congressman Adam Smith, Seattle Port Commissioner Sam Cho, Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent/Director A P Diaz, King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci, US Coast Guard’s Northwest District Commander Rear Admiral Arex Avanni, Washington Supreme Court Justice Steven Gonzalez, along with Mayors of Mercer Island, Normandy Park, Sammamish and North Bend.

The Independence Day celebrations, organised in partnership with the City of Seattle, showcased the rich cultural diversity of all states of India, including magnificent cultural dance performances.

--IANS

/as