Press Release

Congressman Ami Bera, M.D. announced today that he will join President Obama on his trip to India later this week. A lifelong Californian, Bera, whose parents moved to the U.S. from India in the 1950s, is co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and India Americans and the only Indian American currently serving in the U.S. Congress.

"As the son of Indian immigrants, I am extremely honored to be a part of this historic trip to India with the president," said Bera. "Prime Minister Modi's trip to the United States last year was a turning point in relations for our countries, and now this trip will be an important opportunity to continue to move the U.S.-India relationship forward. Our countries should especially look for ways we can grow our strategic and economic partnerships. That will help bring stability to the Southeast Asia region and benefit our economy, in particular opening markets to California and Sacramento County products and creating new jobs. As the oldest and largest democracies in the world, our countries have many common interests and I hope this will be another step toward realizing the full potential of the U.S.-India partnership."

This trip marks the first time a sitting U.S. president will be the chief guest at India's Republic Day parade. Bera will be part of the delegation traveling this Saturday to New Delhi, India, where they will attend Republic Day events and meet with Indian leaders to discuss strengthening and expanding the U.S.-India strategic partnership.

Only the third Indian American to ever serve in Congress, Bera made his first official trip to India in 2013, meeting with business leaders, government officials, policy advocates and innovators in the non-profit sector to identify opportunities to advance the relationship between United States and India. During that trip, Bera helped facilitate an agreement between the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the University of California Davis Postharvest Technology Center to collaborate on postharvest technology to reduce food losses due to spoilage. He also secured a pledge from CII to bring a delegation of Indian CEOs and potential investors to Sacramento County to learn more about opportunities in the region.

Bera became India Caucus co-chair at the beginning of the current 114th Congress. Formed in 1993, the India Caucus is a bipartisan group of members dedicated to championing strong ties between the U.S. and India and supporting the Indian-American community. It is the largest country caucus in Congress.

Bera has represented Sacramento County in Congress since 2013. Born and raised in California, he is a physician and the only Indian American currently serving in Congress. He's fighting to rebuild an economy that works for middle class families and to reduce our country's debt in a responsible way. A proponent for strengthening United States' strategic and trading relationship with India and Asia, Bera is a member of the House Foreign Affairs committee and is working to open Asian markets to California products to create new jobs. He and his wife Janine live in Elk Grove with their daughter Sydra. For more updates on Rep. Bera follow @RepBera on Twitter, like Congressman Bera on Facebook, or visit https://www.bera.house.gov.