'Next time I meet Mr. Anthony Blinken…': EAM Jaishankar in Bengaluru

Union external affairs minister Jaishankar said that he will propose the plan of establishing the US Consulate in Bengaluru when he meets Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state. In a response to the question by Bengaluru south MP Tejasvi Surya, he also said that the US Consulate in Bengaluru is a compelling ask.

The Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) conducted a ‘Yuva Samvada’ in Bengaluru on Friday and the union minister addressed the students and youth who attended the event. While hosting Jaishankar, Tejasvi Surya asked, “Bengaluru is a city with the greatest number of millennials and IT employees. Every time I encounter with people in different airports, people ask me why Bengaluru doesn’t have US Consulate? People of Bengaluru have to travel to Delhi, Chennai or Hyderabad for their visa related work.”

Also Read - Rahul, BJP MPs spar at panel meet chaired by Jaishankar. Here's what happened

Responding to the MP’s question, Jayshankar said, “If I am a resident of Bengaluru, the question makes a lot of sense. It also makes sense if I am an official of the United States government. But the US Consulate in Bengaluru is a compelling ask and not having one in the city is a no-brainer. Next time when I meet Antony Blinken, I will hammer home the message.”

Tejasvi Surya also said that lakhs of Bengaluru people will be thankful to Jayshankar if he can strike a deal with the US government and establish US Consulate in the tech capital.