Senate panel confirms Tim Roemer as next US envoy to India

Ahead of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s planned visit to India this month, the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee has confirmed the nomination of Tim J Roemer as the next US envoy to New Delhi. A former US lawmaker from Indiana and a member of the 9/11 Commission, 53-year-old Roemer is currently head of Washington-based think tank Center for National Policy (CNP).

Roemer had testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday.

The nomination process now goes to the Senate floor for final approval, which is expected to formally confirm him as early as this week.

The Senate has accelerated his nomination process so that he could be in New Delhi well before Clinton’s proposed visit to India. While no date of Clinton’s trip to India has been announced yet, officials in the State Department have said the idea is to have Roemer present in New Delhi when the Secretary of State visits the country in about 10 days from now.

Roemer, in his testimony, had said that if confirmed he would work closely with India to promote stability, prosperity and development in the often volatile region of South Asia.