One year ago, I began my tour as United States Consul General in Chennai, arriving on the eve of Madras Week 2017. My timing was perfect: the week’s heritage talks, exhibitions, and tours were an entrée to the rich history of the city.
Today, as Chennai enjoys its 379th birthday, I reflect on the United States’ friendship with South India, a relationship which is almost as old as the U.S. itself. In 1794, eleven years after America secured its independence, American businessman William Abbott became the first U.S. consular agent assigned to Madras.
Abbot was actively engaged in politics and briefly served as the mayor of Madras in 1797. The U.S. and Chennai developed a robust trade with Americans eager for South India’s cotton, tea, spices, and leather, and Indians thirsty for the blocks of ice hewn from the frozen lakes of Massachusetts that journeyed 16,000 miles and four months across seas before arriving at Marina Beach—a location still marked by the iconic ‘Ice House.’ We have come a long way from trading ice! Two-way U.S.-India trade eclipsed $126 billion in 2017!
Appointed in 1947, Roy E.B. Bower was the first individual to bear the title U.S. Consul General in Chennai. The leaders of the post-WWII period recognised the importance for meaningful people-to-people exchange as a way to promote peace and prevent conflict.
The value of face-to-face meetings has not been displaced by instant digital communication. More than ever South Indians are travelling to the U.S. to work, study, and visit relatives. Last academic year, more than 186,000 Indian students studied in the United States.
Consulate General Chennai adjudicated more than 305,000 visa applications in 2017 and issued more employment-based visas than any other diplomatic post in the world.
Our U.S.-South India relationship has a strong foundation rooted in people-to-people ties and shared values of individual liberty, hard work, and enterprise. As the 25th U.S. Consul General in Chennai, I am excited about the positive and productive direction of our joint future.
Happy Birthday, Madras!
