After a seven-year wait, the Modi government has finally taken the step to establish a consulate in Seattle, appointing Prakash Gupta (IFS:2002) as the Consul-General. This marks India’s sixth consulate in the American city, a decision initially declared back in 2016.
Prakash Gupta currently holds the position of Joint Secretary, UN (Political) at the Ministry of External Affairs. His previous roles include serving as the consul general in Shanghai and the Deputy Chief of Mission in Indonesia. An official announcement regarding the consulate’s opening is anticipated during the upcoming 2+2 India-US ministerial dialogue next week. Later this month, Gupta is scheduled to journey to Seattle, a bustling technology hub that houses a significant Indian population and major multinational corporations like Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks, and Boeing, where he will inaugurate the consulate.
The inauguration of the Seattle consulate was a prominent announcement made by the Indian government during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US in June of this year. During the PM’s visit, India also revealed its intentions to open consulates in two other US cities.
