GOPIO Washington DC region joined with other Indian American community groups to organize a welcome reception last month in Fairfax, VA for the newly appointed Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna and farewell to Deputy Chief of the Mission TaranJit Singh Sandhu.
Over 350 people packed the elegant ballroom of the Waterford at Fair Oaks on a Sunday evening for a sparkling community reception spearheaded by activist Dr. Yogendra Gupta. Ambassador Sarna extolled the Indian-American community which he noted forms only one percent of the US population, but its members make up 9 percent of physicians, 30 percent of start-up founders in Silicon Valley, and 50 percent of the hospitality industry. These are awe-inspiring figures given the size of the community.
GOPIO’s Washington DC Regional Coordinator Jaisingh Bhandari, in his welcome speech, complimented the outgoing DCM Sandhu and his contribution to strengthening relations between US and India. A plaque was presented to Ambassador Sandhu and well wishes for his tenure at SriLanka High commissioner.
Bhandari speaking at the occasion emphasized how Indian community supported the embassy in many occasions to bring both countries together. He further assured the Ambassador that Indian community will support, cooperate and do everything to make efforts in strengthening US-India relations.
Photo: – GOPIO Coordinator Jay Bhandari welcoming Ambassador Sarna. Sitting from l. to r.: DCM Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Ambassador Navtej Sarna and Dr. Yogendra Gupta; Bottom” Some of the organizers with Ambassadors Sarna and Sandho. From l. to r.: Sunil Singh; Satish Korpe; Jay Bhandari; Indian Ambassador Navtej Sarna; Dr. Yogendra Gupta; Kumar Singh; Ashok Batra; and DCM Taranjit Singh Sandhu