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US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti on Thursday emphasised the strong ties the US has with industrialists in the country and how America looks forward to continuing the partnerships for ensuring capacity-building takes place.
He made the remarks when asked to comment about the proceedings going on in the US related to Adani group chairman Gautam Adani and other executives. US Ambassador Eric Garcetti said, "No I don't have any comment on that. Obviously we have independent criminal justice system. It's different than a lot of countries, but no, look, we have had amazing partners with the great industrialists here, with the big companies. We've sometimes been funding directly new factories, ports, and other things, and I would hope that that vision continues no matter what because we're seeing a great new India be built and we're seeing a capacity of Indian companies to do that outside of India. Whether it's in the region in places like Sri Lanka or whether it's in the eastern coast of Africa, I would hope we keep our eye on the ball that that is the most important thing of who has the capacity, how can we partner and ensure that debt traps and state-based, you know, more autocratic visions instead have democratic led industrialists from across both of our nations." The US indictment of Gautam Adani and others in the alleged bribery case has drawn questions from several quarters. US Congressman Lance Gooden on January 7 wrote a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland and said that the timing of the decision to pursue an indictment of Adani was to disrupt President-elect Donald Trump's commitment to revive the American economy. The Congressman posed 5 questions to the Department of Justice one of which read, "Why has the DOJ pursued this case against Gautam Adani when the alleged criminal act, and the parties allegedly involved are in India? Do you seek to enforce justice in India?" The Congressman went on to suggest that the charges could damage relations with one of the most reliable partners of the US, India. In November last year, responding to the indictment Chairman of Adani Group, Gautam Adani said, "We faced a set of allegations from the US about compliance practices at Adani Green Energy. This is not the first time we have faced such challenges. What I can tell you is that every attack makes us stronger, and every obstacle becomes a stepping stone for a more resilient Adani Group. The fact is that despite a lot of the vested reporting, no one from the Adani side has been charged with any violation of the FCPA or any conspiracy to obstruct justice." (ANI)
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