- Title: India says US H1B visas benefit both countries after Trump, Musk backing
- Date: 3rd January 2025
- Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (JANUARY 03, 2025) (ANI - No use India) (MUTE) INDIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON, RANDHIR JAISWAL ENTERING NEWSER VENUE (MUTE) MEDIAPERSONS SITTING IN ATTENDANCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) INDIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, RANDHIR JAISWAL, SAYING: "Both our countries have a strong and growing economic and technological partnership and within this ambit, mob
- Embargoed: 17th January 2025 12:50
- Keywords: China India Tibet border disengagement dam foreign policy government hydropower
- Location: NEW DELHI, INDIA
- City: NEW DELHI, INDIA
- Country: India
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001LPRVGI7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The movement of skilled professionals is an important part of India-U.S. ties and benefits both countries, New Delhi said on Friday (January 03) amid a debate over H-1B visas on which President-elect Donald Trump and his backer Elon Musk commented recently.
India, known for its massive pool of IT professionals, many of whom work across the world, accounts for the bulk of such visas issued by the United States.
Late last month, Trump said he fully backed the H1B programme for foreign workers opposed by some of his supporters after Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, vowed to go to "war" to defend it.
India said such visas provided mutual benefits.
"Our countries have a strong and growing economic and technological partnership and within this ambit, mobility of skilled professionals is an important component," India's foreign ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal said.
India received about 78 per cent of the 265,777 H1B visas issued by the United States in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2023.
The country is keen to strengthen ties under Trump, Jaiswal said, noting that India's foreign minister and foreign secretary recently visited the United States and held meetings with Trump's transition team.
Jaiswal also said that New Delhi has conveyed its concerns to Beijing about China's plan to build a hydropower dam in Tibet on the Yarlung Zangbo river which flows into India.
The Yarlung Zangbo becomes the Brahmaputra river as it leaves Tibet and flows south into India's Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states and finally into Bangladesh.
The construction of the dam, which will be the largest of its kind in the world with an estimated capacity of 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, was approved last month. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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