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THE U.S. REBALANCE IN SOUTH ASIA:

FOREIGN AID AND DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

MARCH 24, 2015

Serial No. 114–29

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

MATT SALMON, Arizona 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

MO BROOKS, Alabama 

PAUL COOK, California 

RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

CURT CLAWSON, Florida 

SCOTT DESJARLAIS, Tennessee 

REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin 

DAVID A. TROTT, Michigan 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

TOM EMMER, Minnesota 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

AMI BERA, California 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California 

GRACE MENG, New York 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania

AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director

JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

MATT SALMON, Arizona Chairman 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

MO BROOKS, Alabama 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

SCOTT DESJARLAIS, Tennessee 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

AMI BERA, California 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

GRACE MENG, New York 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

WITNESSES 

The Honorable Nisha Desai Biswal, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South 

and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State ...................................... 7

The Honorable Jonathan Stivers, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Asia, 

U.S. Agency for International Development ...................................................... 26

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING 

The Honorable Nisha Desai Biswal: Prepared statement .................................... 10

The Honorable Jonathan Stivers: Prepared statement ........................................ 28

APPENDIX 

Hearing notice .......................................................................................................... 46

Hearing minutes ...................................................................................................... 47

The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly, a Representative in Congress from the 

Commonwealth of Virginia: 

Material submitted for the record ...................................................................... 48

Prepared statement .............................................................................................. 49

(1)

THE U.S. REBALANCE IN SOUTH ASIA: 

FOREIGN AID AND DEVELOPMENT 

PRIORITIES 

TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA AND THE PACIFIC,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 11 o’clock a.m., in 

room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Matt Salmon 

(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Mr. SALMON. Good morning. The subcommittee will come to 

order. I would like to thank our distinguished witnesses, Assistant 

Secretary Nisha Biswal and Assistant Administrator Jonathan 

Stivers for coming here this morning. Thank you very much. 

This hearing was called to assess the Fiscal Year 2016 State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development budget 

requests for the South Asia region. Today I would like to focus on 

how U.S. funds support the health of South Asia’s democratic institutions, the strength of economic development in the region, and 

the management of the latent security concerns. 

The relationship between the United States and countries in 

South Asia concerning those issues is very ripe for cooperation. Robust relations with South Asian countries would significantly bolster our rebalance to Asia. However, the region also faces some significant economic, security and human rights challenges. 

To start, Bangladesh continues to face severe political challenges 

with in-fighting between Bangladesh National Party and the 

Awami League which has begun to impede on development and 

citizens’ livelihoods. India must address development challenges for 

a significant part of its population with over 300 million Indians 

still living without electricity. 

During our trip to India, the Prime Minister was noted for saying 

let us build toilets instead of temples, showing what a serious development it is in that region of the world. There is about a quarter 

of the Indian population that don’t have electricity. The Maldives 

is increasingly a hub for foreign fighters and religious extremism, 

yet the issue goes unnoticed. 

The United States uses limited resources to assist South Asian 

nations, facilitating their democratic infrastructure and economic 

development. Despite the region’s shifting geopolitical landscape, 

increasingly complex security outlook, lingering human rights 

2

issues and enduring obstacles in development, U.S. foreign assistance in South Asia has actually fallen by 48 percent, from $2.2 billion to $1.1 billion not including food aid between Fiscal Year 2012 

and the requested budget for 2016. I implore our distinguished witnesses to explain whether the United States is doing enough and 

whether our limited funding to the region could be better utilized. The administration requested $168 million for assistance in Bangladesh in Fiscal Year 2015 and the request for Fiscal Year 2016 

is $172 million, an almost 2.5 percent increase. The vast majority 

of our aid dollars go to Bangladesh yet we see little improvement 

in living and working conditions, especially in the provision of social services. I worry that the instability caused from the rivalry 

between the two major political parties has disrupted our aid efforts. I hope that Assistant Secretary Biswal and Assistant Administrator Stivers will be able to explain how our contributions would 

be best used in Bangladesh. 

India is a country of vast opportunity for collaboration on development, trade and defense. It is the world’s largest democracy and 

it is indeed an increasingly important partner in maintaining regional peace and stability. 

I visited, as I mentioned, India earlier this month and I was really, really impressed with many of the reforms that are being spoken of by the Prime Minister, and I am very hopeful that things 

in India will significantly improve and it will be a much more robust economy. Of course they have to have a lot larger growth rate 

to accommodate the, what is it, about 1 million new jobs a month? 

Pretty significant. I look forward to staying extremely engaged 

with India as the country continues to pursue their aggressive 

agenda of economic and infrastructure development. 

I am concerned however about the treatment of women and minorities. In particular I am concerned that the government has 

been suppressing discourse about women’s rights. The Indian Government was reported to have censored a BBC documentary about 

the gang rape of a 23-year-old Delhi woman. It is particularly disturbing to our principles of free speech and women’s rights. I would 

like to know whether our administration has brought this up with 

the Indian Government. That was quite a topic of conversation 

while we were there. I believe it was called ‘‘India’s Daughter.’’

There is not enough attention paid to the Maldives, a democratic 

nation of many small islands but one that sits in the middle of key 

shipping lanes in the region. While maritime traffic flows past the 

Maldivian islands, maritime security is of major concern due to political threats posed by narcotics trafficking, piracy in the Indian 

Ocean and potential seaborne terrorist activity. 

Further reports of growing extremism greatly concern me. Why 

are the Maldive’s serving as a hub for the recruitment of religious 

extremists? How are we addressing these grave concerns to our 

international stability and our national security? 

The newly elected Sri Lankan President Sirisena recently stated 

he will revisit deals signed with China by his predecessor President 

Rajapaksa. With increased trade and investment between the two 

countries, Sri Lanka risks being wooed by China through major investment and infrastructure construction initiatives. I would like to 

know what we can do to ensure that Sri Lanka does not become 

3

dependent on China for development and what we can do to assist 

the new government in addressing domestic, economic and development challenges. The requested budget must focus on promoting 

more democratic and accountable governance, promoting sustainable economic development and opportunities for trade and commerce in the region. 

Other countries, Bhutan and Nepal, are also extremely important to our efforts in South Asia and I hope today’s witnesses will 

be able to address them as well. I look forward to hearing from our 

distinguished witnesses this afternoon, and I now yield to Mr. 

Sherman, the ranking member of the subcommittee, for his opening 

remarks. 

Mr. SHERMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is entirely appropriate that we have these hearings focusing on an area with almost 

2 billion people and an area in where almost half those people are 

under 25. 

Our witnesses focus on all of the countries of South Asia with 

the—what should we say—shared jurisdiction with regard to Pakistan, and I know our subcommittee includes all of South Asia. 

There are special both aid and diplomatic authorities to deal with 

Pakistan and Afghanistan and maybe we would hold joint hearings 

looking at those two countries together. Maybe next year we will 

make your Pakistan/Afghanistan counterparts do double duty and 

come before us as well as the other subcommittee. 

As to India, I think it will go down in world history to have an 

election in which 553 million people cast ballots as occurred in 

April and May of last year. India is one of our most important strategic and geopolitical partners, many important issues face the 

country, and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses. 

As to economic relations, Ms. Biswal, you have testified before, 

before our subcommittee, about the importance of negotiating a bilateral investment treaty between our country. In joint statements 

that have come out, President Obama’s visit to India in January, 

there is further talk of this treaty. 

Now, right now our trade is about $100 billion in goods and services and we are already running a $30-billion trade deficit, 30 percent. I am interested in how the administration isn’t just going to 

have more trade but more balanced trade. Very executive agencies 

of our Government have occasionally testified that if you could increase American trade by having $1 billion of new exports and $2 

billion of new imports that that was wonderful. Three billion dollars in trade. The fact is, unbalanced trade means we lose jobs, and 

I join the Vice President in a goal of $500 billion of bilateral trade, 

250 and 250. 

One element of this is the U.S.-India nuclear cooperation agreement. When we voted in favor of that we were told that India 

would open up its market to U.S. companies by making the necessary changes in its liability laws. To date I am not sure they 

have done that and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses. 

I would hate to think that we voted for that agreement believing 

certain things that didn’t turn out to be true and then we are being 

given another agreement to vote on. 

As to Bangladesh, the democratic process is weak. One third of 

the people live in extreme poverty. The two matriarchs fight over 

4

power. One of the dominant parties boycotted the elections altogether, and I look forward to you solving that problem easily in the 

next few months. 

And of course when we focus on Bangladesh we need to focus on 

labor and working conditions. So many of us see their products in 

our stores. I know that there is some progress, some 200 labor 

unions have been established, a number of unsafe factories have 

been closed down. But then 2 weeks ago a roof collapses on another 

Bangladeshi factory and we are left with many dead and injured. 

As to Sri Lanka we saw a real test of a democracy. And the 

greatest test of a democracy is when one party is voted out, another party is voted in, the party that is voted in actually takes 

power. The new President’s soon to be empowered Parliament have 

to resolve a lot of human rights issues growing out of the 26-yearlong civil war. 

I understand our 2016 budget was drawn up before the surprise 

elections. Now hopefully we will be able to help the new President 

with truth and reconciliation, and the new government of course 

faces the possibility of nonconstitutional attack from both the 

former President but more importantly perhaps the former President’s brother, former Defense Minister who was implicated in certain unwarranted and tragic instances at the end of the civil war. 

So I see that the new President is open to trials taking place in 

Sri Lanka, and they might do more to heal the country than the 

trials taking place at the International Criminal Court or some 

other far-off land. I have got wonderful paragraphs written by a 

brilliant staff about Nepal, but my time has expired and I yield 

back. 

Mr. SALMON. Thank you. 

Mr. Connolly, did you have an opening statement? 

Mr. CONNOLLY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I want to welcome both of our witnesses. And I think, Mr. Stivers, this is your first. This is your debut on that side of the table 

so we have to be gentle. 

And Ms. Biswal, let the record show you represent our Government. There seemed to be some confusion about that in the past. 

It is great to have you both here. 

One of the things I hope we get a chance to hear from you is, 

I am interested in efficacy of foreign economic, of our economic assistance. We have been in South Asia a long time, and to what extent can we correlate the investments we have made over the decades with metrics that matter like GDP, the rise out of poverty, infant mortality or survivability, food production, job growth and the 

like, or is it just an incidental that has helped make things better 

marginally? 

I think that is critical to this question, because how does aid play 

a role in our foreign policy in this corner of the world, especially 

the title of our hearing is The U.S. Rebalance in South Asia? Well, 

is economic assistance a critical tool as part of that rebalancing? 

What is that rebalancing? What is the role that aid is going to play 

and how does it make people’s lives better? And how do the recipients of this investment by the U.S. taxpayer know about it? Do 

they make the connection that their lives are improving because of 

this investment the American people have made? 

5

And I would be very interested in that because we have been at 

this game a long time, and I do believe that actually there are such 

metrics but I don’t think we always do as good a job in the narrative as we should which affects support here for those investments. And if we are going to sustain them and maybe even build 

upon them, I think we have to have a compelling narrative and we 

have got to have metrics that are compelling as well. 

So I look forward to your testimony in setting that context. And 

I am going to be in an out because I have another hearing as well, 

but I will be following what you say. At any rate, thank you, and 

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the time. 

Mr. SALMON. Thank you. 

Ms. Meng, did you have a statement? 

Ms. MENG. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member 

Sherman. Good morning and welcome, Assistant Secretary Biswal, 

and a special welcome to Assistant Administrator Jonathan Stivers. I am pleased to have this opportunity to explore the importance of South Asia and the President’s budget and the rebalance 

to Asia. 

My district in Queens, New York, is home to a vibrant South 

Asian community with residents from all over the subcontinent, 

but especially India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. In fact, the 

U.S. is home to well over 3.4 million South Asian-Americans, and 

this rapidly growing population has only aided in improving ties 

between the U.S. and the region. 

The increase in bilateral cooperation between the U.S. and India, 

the latest anti-corruption and unifying policies of the new President of Sri Lanka, these are points to celebrate. But right now 

what I find most urgent is the continuing violence in Bangladesh. 

I will come back to this point when we have time for questions 

later in the hearing. 

Thank you, I yield back. 

Mr. SALMON. Thank you. 

Mr. Bera, did you have some comments? 

Mr. BERA. I will share my quick opening statement. I had, one, 

it is great to see both of you here, and as my colleague from Virginia said, we will take it easy on you, Mr. Stivers, today. 

I had the privilege of going with Chairman Salmon to India a few 

weeks ago on a trip led by the chairman of the full committee Mr. 

Royce. And this is on the heels of the President’s visit to India in 

January. So there is a general sense of optimism and the potential 

here, but there is also, obviously there are challenges as well. 

We had a chance to visit with the Prime Minister again and 

many of his cabinet members, so from the Prime Minister’s agenda 

our sense is he clearly does want to see this partnership grow. And 

you have seen some positive pieces of legislation like the raising of 

the FDI caps on insurance that really can have a tremendous benefit to allowing foreign investment to flow into India to help the 

Prime Minister reach his pretty ambitious goals. 

Also when we were on the ground in New Delhi we were able to 

see some of USAID’s work firsthand visiting the Vivekananda 

Slums and looking at some of the work that they are doing on the 

ground to address issues of sanitation, clean water, empowering 

6

local communities, and really talking to the staff on the ground and 

talking to some of the folks within the Indian administration. 

You are moving India from being a donor recipient country to a 

country that is actually then going into places like Afghanistan, 

going into some of the countries in Africa and becoming a donor nation as well and helping that development. And I think that is a 

real success story for USAID to help India develop its own capacity 

to be a donor nation. 

So I look forward to the testimony, and again look forward to 

continuing this momentum on the U.S.-India partnership. 

Mr. SALMON. Thank you. 

Ms. Gabbard, did you have some comments? 

Ms. GABBARD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, very briefly. 

Welcome back and welcome, good to see you both here. As we 

look toward this focus in rebalance toward the Asia Pacific it is impossible to talk about this without talking about South Asia, so this 

focus of the hearing today is so critical. 

As we look around the world at different hotspots and different 

areas of concern and emerging and growing threats, I think the relative stability overall that we see in the region, I think, comes from 

the fact that there is this proactive engagement from a strategic 

sense, from a cultural sense as well as an economic sense, and I 

think that is connecting each of these three things. 

Connecting our people, our businesses, our militaries is what is 

critical for us as we look at moving forward and really building this 

strong partnership. Obviously the India-U.S. relationship and really growing friendship is one of the most important elements of this, 

so I look forward to hearing from you today. Thank you. 

Mr. SALMON. Thank you. And before I introduce the panelists I 

would like to acknowledge the Ambassador from Bangladesh Mohammad Ziauddin, wonderful to have you here today, sir. 

I would like to introduce our two distinguished panelists. First 

of all, Assistant Secretary Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for 

South and Central Asian Affairs on October 21st, 2013. Prior to 

this she served from September 2010 as Assistant Administrator 

for Asia at USAID where she oversaw $1.2 billion in assistance to 

22 countries from Central Asia to the Pacific Islands and managed 

a bureau and overseas staff of over 1,200 development professionals. 

She has served as the majority clerk for the House Appropriations Committee Foreign Operations Subcommittee and professional staff in the House Foreign Affairs Committee where she was 

responsible for South Asia. So it is wonderful to have you. 

And that is what the threat of commonality is because our next 

panelist Jonathan Stivers currently serves as the USAID Assistant 

Administrator of the Asia Bureau and oversees a budget of over 

$1.8 billion in assistance to 32 countries in South Asia, Central 

Asia, East Asia and Pacific Islands and manages a bureau and 

overseas staff of approximately 1,200 development professionals, 

and prior to that he served as senior advisor to the Speaker of the 

U.S. House of Representatives and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. 

7

And we are just thrilled to have you both on that side of the 

table today and very interested in everything that you have to say. 

And we will start with you, Ms. Biswal. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE NISHA DESAI BISWAL, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF SOUTH AND CENTRAL 

ASIAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

Ms. BISWAL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, Ranking 

Member Sherman, members of the subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to testify today. I appreciate the very important role that 

this committee plays in shaping U.S. policy. Before I begin I ask 

that my full statement be entered into the record and I will summarize my comments. 

Mr. SALMON. Without objection. 

Ms. BISWAL. Thank you. 

I am especially thrilled to be here with my good friend and colleague and fellow House staff alumnus Jon Stivers. I am also very 

pleased, Mr. Chairman, that you have chosen to frame today’s 

hearing as the U.S. Rebalance to South Asia. 

President Obama has clearly stated why our strategic interests 

in the Indo-Pacific are so clear and compelling. As the world’s fastest growing region, the coming decades will increasingly show that 

America’s security and prosperity will be linked to that of Asia. 

Mr. Chairman, in your district alone demand from Asia supports 

34 percent of export-related jobs and accounts for 30 percent of 

total exports, worth over $1⁄2 billion per year. And South Asia, with 

nearly 2 billion people, an entrepreneurial culture, and a resurgent 

Indian economy at its center, will play a large role in shaping the 

Asian narrative in the decades to come. 

But in order for the region to achieve its potential, countries 

must grapple with the myriad challenges that impede progress. 

Democratic governance is fragile in a number of countries and 

must be strengthened. Burgeoning youth populations, increasing 

urbanization, and environmental stresses must be addressed to create sustainable and inclusive economic growth. 

The President’s budget request for South Asia, at just over $383 

million, enables us to partner with governments, businesses, civil 

society and security forces to address challenges and to unlock opportunities for the region’s people and for the American people. 

While my testimony does not cover Afghanistan and Pakistan, I 

do oversee the broad areas of regional cooperation and connectivity 

between those two countries and the rest of South and Central 

Asia. And while South Asia boasts some of the world’s fastest growing economies, regionally it is one of the least economically integrated, so our regional initiatives are focused on helping connect 

the countries of South Asia not just to each other but also to Central Asia, through our New Silk Road initiative, and to Southeast 

Asia, through the Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor. We work to promote the virtuous networks of trade and commerce, but we also 

work to inhibit the vicious networks of violence and crime, of terrorism and narcotics and human trafficking. 

Mr. Chairman, the primary economic engine in South Asia is 

India, where our bilateral relationship is stronger than ever. President Obama’s historic visit during Republic Day was a great sucVerDate 0ct 09 2002 12:54 Jun 01, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 Z:\WORK\_AP\032415\93911 SHIRL
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cess, not only because of the symbolism of being the first U.S. 

President invited to be India’s chief guest on Republic Day, but also 

for the very substantial outcomes that his interactions with Prime 

Minister Modi produced in four key areas—advancing our strategic 

partnership to address common goals, enhancing our security cooperation, deepening our economic ties, and increasing cooperation 

on clean energy and climate goals. These specific outcomes are 

elaborated in my written testimony, but we are very focused now 

on implementation and operationalization of these outcomes. 

The political transition in Sri Lanka, as you mentioned, Mr. 

Chairman, has also opened up new possibilities in that bilateral relationship. We strongly support the new government’s focus on 

strengthening the country’s democratic institutions, rebuilding its 

economy, and pursuing meaningful and lasting reconciliation. 

In Bangladesh, we see the potential for a modern, prosperous, 

strong and inclusive country. As the world’s top contributor of 

peacekeeping forces, it is bringing stability to countries around the 

globe. And our assistance programs there have yielded some of the 

best returns on investment, addressing some of the points, Mr. 

Chairman, that you raised and that Mr. Connolly raised about the 

efficacy of U.S. assistance. Yet the political stalemate and continuing violence in Dhaka have taken a real toll on the people and 

the economy. We have underscored to opposition parties the need 

to curb violent protest while at the same time we have strongly 

urged the government to provide space for peaceful protest, to expand press freedoms, and to create an inclusive political process. 

With respect to labor, nearly 2 years after the collapse of Rana 

Plaza, Bangladesh has made important progress on labor safety, 

especially in the number of inspectors trained and buildings inspected. But for all the progress that we have seen, we have not 

seen the lasting change in attitudes, enforcement, and incentives 

that will bring Bangladesh in line with international labor standards, so that work continues. 

Mr. Chairman, in Nepal, after decades of conflict and insurgency, 

the country is on the cusp of creating an inclusive constitution that 

guarantees fundamental rights to all of its people—if all sides can 

compromise to support a consensus based approach. We are supporting that democratic transition and its economic development 

while also partnering on security cooperation focused on strengthening Nepal’s significant contribution to U.N. peacekeeping operations. 

Lastly, Mr. Chairman, the two smallest democracies, Maldives 

and Bhutan. As you noted, in Maldives we have an important but 

small program focused on counter terrorism and violent extremism, 

as well as on climate change, and the bilateral relationship had 

been on a positive glide path. However, we are deeply concerned 

about recent events, including last week’s conviction and sentencing of former President Nasheed. Bhutan is a country with 

which we have very warm ties, and we seek new ways to support 

that government’s very strong commitment to preserving its environment through regional programs focused on clean energy and 

biodiversity. 

Let me conclude, Mr. Chairman, by reiterating that the security 

and the prosperity of the United States increasingly will be tied to 

9

the security and prosperity of Asia. The United States can and 

must play a leading role in shaping and supporting that region’s 

stability and growth in the decades to come. Thank you Mr. Chairman, I look forward to your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Biswal follows:]

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Mr. SALMON. Thank you. 

Mr. Stivers? 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JONATHAN STIVERS, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, BUREAU FOR ASIA, U.S. AGENCY 

FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

Mr. STIVERS. Chairman Salmon, Ranking Member Sherman, and 

distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on advancing our foreign policy goals in 

South Asia. Before I begin I would like to request that my full 

statement be entered in the record. 

Mr. SALMON. Without objection. 

Mr. STIVERS. Having worked in the House of Representatives for 

the past 18 years, it is a real honor to be here especially alongside 

my friend and colleague Assistant Secretary Nisha Biswal. 

Through the President’s budget request of $383 million for South 

Asia, we will continue our efforts as responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars to end extreme poverty and promote resilient democratic societies while advancing our own security and prosperity. 

USAID expands stable, free societies that provide lasting alternatives to otherwise destabilizing forces. At the same time we create new markets and trade partners, promote democratic values 

and foster goodwill abroad all with less than 1 percent of the Federal budget. 

Our approach at USAID is threefold. First, we are institutionalizing USAID’s new model of development which leverages publicprivate partnerships, local solutions, science and innovation to do 

more with less. In the past 5 years USAID has made great strides, 

going from just 8 percent of resources programmed through this 

new model to 40 percent. 

While my responsibilities do not include Afghanistan and Pakistan, we are focused on building regional solutions to increase stability and economic integration including expanded regional 

connectivity between South and Central Asia and Afghanistan and 

Pakistan especially in the areas of trade and energy. 

Second, we are building pathways out of poverty through the 

Global Health Initiative, Feed the Future, and the Global Climate 

Change Initiative. USAID is working to improve health systems 

and outcomes, increased food security, and help communities adapt 

to, mitigate and manage the risks of a changing environment. 

And third, we are promoting democratic governance and empowering reformers because we know that government by the people offers the best chance for freedom and prosperity. Fighting poverty 

is often less a question of funding but in effectively addressing the 

underlying governance challenges that hold countries back from realizing their full potential, and a strong and vibrant civil society is 

central to any healthy democracy. 

In India, renewed commitments by President Obama and Prime 

Minister Modi have given weight to new momentum and heightened engagement. It is a new day on our bilateral relationship, but 

it has already been a new day in how we administer our assistance 

in India. We have transformed our partnership with India from a 

donor-recipient relationship to a peer-to-peer partnership that harnesses the strengths and capabilities of both countries to jointly 

27

tackle development challenges. We are leveraging more resources 

than ever from Indian partners while also drawing on American 

private sector expertise. 

Today is World TB Day and USAID is combating the spread of 

TB with state-of-the-art technology from California that is really a 

gamechanger in the fight against multidrug resistant tuberculosis 

globally. USAID is collaborating with American and Indian partners including the Gates Foundation to provide clean water and 

sanitation services to low income populations in India’s largest 

urban centers. And we are also deepening our engagement with 

partners to support women’s empowerment in combating gender violence. 

Last, we continue our efforts with the Indian Government to support the Tibetan refugee community which really represents the 

best of our shared values with India. 

In Bangladesh, despite the difficult political situation, we have 

made tremendous progress on economic development including maternal and child health, food security, agricultural production and 

protecting the environment. We continue to focus on improving 

labor conditions including workplace safety and the capacity of 

labor organizations. 

In Nepal we are tackling the roots of poverty such as poor governance and the recurrent shocks both economic and physical that 

perpetuate its cycle. USAID has helped Nepal cut its poverty rate 

by 25 percent in recent years and provided funding to help the 

Election Commission and the challenge of human trafficking. Nepal 

is extremely vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters 

and we are helping address food shortages, vulnerability and natural resource degradation. 

In Sri Lanka the country is entering a new chapter following the 

recent historic election. The new government has asked the United 

States for help in restoring and strengthening its neglected democratic institutions and processes. However, since the budget request 

was completed prior to the election, USAID is exploring sources of 

additional support in order to seize on this unprecedented opening. 

We will continue engaging with you and your staff so we can chart 

the way forward together. 

Finally, in the Maldives our assistance will continue to mitigate 

the impacts of climate change on the economy and the way of life. 

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member, members of the committee, 

in today’s interconnected world South Asia’s future is ever more 

important to our own. I appreciate the opportunity to testify today 

and I look forward to your counsel and questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Stivers follows:]

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Mr. SALMON. Thank you. Time for our questions. I would like to 

direct my first question to Ms. Biswal. When we were on the codel 

a couple weeks ago to India, the potential of a bilateral investment 

treaty was one that dominated a lot of our conversations with the 

Prime Minister himself, some of his cabinet members as well as 

some of our American business folks over there. 

What are the prospects for that? What is the time frame? What 

are the impediments and how do we move past it? And along that 

same line, one of the other issues that came up was President 

Modi’s ‘‘Made in India’’ campaign and how it potentially disadvantages U.S. businesses that want to invest in India. And I have 

heard of some American companies such as Amazon who have been 

unfairly disadvantaged in getting market access in the country. Are 

we looking into any arbitration options or alternatives for the region? 

And then my last question is also kind of economically related. 

It is both economically and environmentally related. But we were 

told while we were in Delhi that it is the most polluted city in the 

world surpassing even Beijing. And I am wondering, is there any 

strong ideas about exporting our abundant LNG here from our 

country potentially to India both as a way of helping them economically and getting good clean energy to deal with both their economic growth needs as well as their environmental and our environmental concerns with them? So could you address those three 

issues for me. 

Ms. BISWAL. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. As you noted and 

as Ranking Member Sherman noted in your opening comments and 

in your question, the economic partnership with India is a very important one and we are very much interested in seeing India’s economic rise and being a partner to India in that. 

American companies bring cutting-edge technology and best practices and are highly sought after in terms of investment and partnership in India. But they face certain impediments, and the focus 

on the bilateral investment treaty has long been as a mechanism 

to create the kind of enabling environment that provides the framework for greater ease of investing in and doing business in India. 

And with India having now concluded its own Model BIT framework, we are poised to be able to engage with the Indians and commence in negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty. There are 

ongoing conversations between the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, the Department of State, and our Indian counterparts on 

launching into BIT negotiations. We want to make sure that any 

bilateral investment treaty is very high quality and high standard 

and reflects the expectations of our companies and the best practices that we have gleaned from our engagements around the 

world. We believe that that will clear the path for greater ease of 

dispute resolution, addressing issues of taxation and other things 

that impede investment in India. 

You made reference to challenges faced by companies like Amazon, and I know that with respect to things like e-commerce that 

this is in a developing field within India in terms of how to deal 

with the issues of Internet commerce and the tax implications. 

There is a pending case with respect to Amazon, but there is also 

a movement toward creating a standardized goods and services tax 

36

in India that can, I think, potentially create the broader framework 

for companies like Amazon on how things like e-commerce will be 

governed in terms of taxation. So we look forward to seeing forward 

progress on the GST and see how that can address this. I know 

that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has opined on this issue as 

well, and the need to be able to create greater dependability and 

predictability with respect to the taxation issues. 

And finally, with respect to what we can do to support India’s efforts to address pollution and air quality issues, LNG is certainly 

one area where in fact the first export licenses for American LNG 

were issued to a company that was exporting to India, and so we 

certainly see that as a particular avenue. 

We are also working across the board in other ways to address 

issues of environment and air quality. India has said that it is 

going to issue a uniform air quality index, measurement index. We 

have agreed in our climate and energy Memorandum of Understanding, that was agreed to during the President’s visit, on creating an air quality working group to look at these issues and explore how we can partner, how we can work together. We also 

talked about addressing issues of emissions from heavy vehicles 

and other ways to reduce air pollution. 

So we look forward to bringing the kind of technical expertise 

and know-how, as well as the technology that American companies 

bring, to addressing these kinds of challenges. 

Mr. SALMON. Thank you. 

Mr. Sherman? 

Mr. SHERMAN. Thank you. I just want to first focus on the budg- et. You are asking for $383 million. Does that cover both diplomacy 

and aid, and does that cover all of South Asia or South Asia without Pakistan? 

Ms. BISWAL. So the $383 million is the assistance budget. It includes the USAID development assistance programs and it also includes the security assistance programs and other assistance programs managed by the Department of State. It does not include the 

overall diplomatic operations and engagements that support our 

diplomatic engagement in the region. 

Mr. SHERMAN. And it does not include Pakistan? 

Ms. BISWAL. And it does not include Afghanistan and Pakistan. 

Mr. SHERMAN. And how much, excluding Pakistan in this discussion, do we then spend on diplomacy in the area? And I realize that 

would just be on the Embassies in-country. Obviously you don’t 

have a cost accountant going through Foggy Bottom. 

Ms. BISWAL. I don’t have that number at the top of my head in 

terms of the breakout specific to the South Asia DNCP component. 

I would be happy to get those numbers for you, Mr. Sherman. 

Mr. SHERMAN. Got you. We are looking at this bilateral investment treaty. I think it is important that you make sure that it is 

not just making India safe for offshoring jobs and that you look not 

only—because you are going to hear from the companies and they 

are going to equate, well, whatever has them make profits that 

must be good for America. I hope that you have the economic support to see whether this agreement will lead to jobs. 

The economic analysis of permanent MFN for China was large 

trade that would be balanced. Instead we have seen the American 

37

middle class crushed as a result of that bad decision. We certainly 

don’t want to repeat it with regard to India. 

As to energy, you have got 300 million people in India without 

regular power. There is natural interest in India in the nuclear 

power, yet they have failed to attract U.S. suppliers to set up nuclear facilities. What does the U.S. need to do to get India to sign 

onto the convention on supplementary compensation, and to what 

extent had the Indians promised to do that or something similar 

as part of the 123 Agreement? 

Ms. BISWAL. Thank you, Congressman. I think one of the big 

breakthroughs during the President’s visit on Republic Day was 

the progress made on implementing the 123 Agreement, the Civil 

Nuclear Cooperation, and the breakthroughs were in two key 

areas. One was on creating the understandings and assurances on 

tracking fissile material that allow us to move forward and to be 

in compliance with our requirements with respect to tracking of 

fissile material. 

And the second was on this issue of nuclear liability and clarifications from the Government of India from the Prime Minister 

himself as well as the Foreign Minister about the liability for operators as opposed to for suppliers, which is largely in keeping with 

the conventional and supplementary compensation. That articulation by the highest levels of the Indian Government about its interpretation of Indian law with respect to how liability accrues is in 

keeping with the CSC and paves the way now for the Indian Parliament to ratify the CSC, which we hope that they will do in short 

order. That is something that is largely for the Indian system to 

take up. We are hopeful that that progress on ratification will be 

made in the near future. 

Mr. SHERMAN. So the ratification under these circumstances 

would provide the protection necessary for U.S. companies to operate? 

Ms. BISWAL. It would provide the assurances of how India sees 

and accrues liability in the event of any kind of a happenstance. 

So it does therefore then guide how companies would see their own 

liabilities and how the courts would see and determine liability, we 

believe. 

Mr. SHERMAN. I want to go on. Just for the record, if you could 

give us a timeline about how the South and Central Asia Bureau 

is being restructured to include Afghanistan and Pakistan that 

would be helpful for our record. 

I want to shift over to Sri Lanka. We have witnessed a democratic change of government there and of course the end of the civil 

war, but parts of the country have yet to recover especially the 

north and eastern regions where the Tamil minority lives. What is 

the State Department doing to encourage the Sri Lanka to get the 

army to leave these occupied lands and to allow displaced persons 

to return? 

And what are the efforts, Jon, that you are making to rebuild the 

schools and hospitals that were destroyed in the northern and eastern parts of the country? 

Ms. BISWAL. I will answer briefly and then turn to my colleague 

as well to chime in on the Sri Lanka support prospects and priorities. 

38

With respect to the bureaucratic restructuring that you referenced with respect to the South and Central Asia Bureau and the 

Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, this is something that we are looking at very closely. We have always felt and 

articulated that, at the right time, we wanted to reintegrate and 

combine these entities—which were very important at the time 

while we had an ongoing conflict and a very large and complex operation to manage—to be able to provide that dedicated management focus by creating a Special Representative’s office. I think as 

we look at the transition in Afghanistan, we are looking to see in 

the near future how we bring that structure and reintegrate that 

into the Bureau. So that is something that I think we will be looking at and moving forward on in the months ahead. 

With respect to Sri Lanka, I think you are absolutely right to 

focus on some of the very deep challenges in terms of supporting 

reconciliation, and that is to address some of these longstanding 

issues of land. The government has actually set a fairly ambitious 

100-day plan and has started down that path including, I believe, 

just in the past day or so there was an announcement in Jaffna by 

the government, by the commission on land that I believe they set 

up, on returning the initial parcels of land. We think that that is 

a good start and we know much, much more needs to be done. And 

the United States has said it has committed that Sri Lanka will 

not be walking down that path alone; that we are committed to 

helping them address some of these key issues so that there can 

be more meaningful reconciliation moving forward. 

But why don’t I turn to Jon Stivers on that. 

Mr. STIVERS. Thank you Ranking Member Sherman for that 

question and for your interest in U.S.-Sri Lankan relations and the 

plight of the Tamil community in northern Sri Lanka. 

The democratic election in Sri Lanka was really a testament to 

the Sri Lankan people who changed government at the ballot box 

in a nonviolent way in honor of their traditions, their longstanding 

democratic traditions. Shortly after the election we sent an interagency assessment team to Sri Lanka to really look at the reform 

agenda of the government and assess the needs of the Sri Lankan 

people moving forward. We found strong support for the reform 

agenda from the government. 

The government was elected with the support of the minority 

populations and we saw that land was an absolute key priority for 

the people there in Sri Lanka including accountability, decentralization and rebuilding of democratic institutions. We hope to 

support the elections process moving forward, as well as civil society and the vulnerable communities all over the country, and 

youth. 

We are looking closely at the assistance package moving forward 

both in the short term and the long term. We have briefed a number of your staffs on the findings of the assessment team, and we 

hope to work with Congress, get your input before decisions are 

made and move forward in a bipartisan way—Congress and executive branch working together. 

Mr. SALMON. Thank you. 

Mr. Connolly? 

Mr. CONNOLLY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

39

Ms. Biswal, I know it has been brought to your attention that 

there seems to be a serious issue with the seizure of Indian passports bearing a T visa issued by the United States to Indian nationals. I believe you have been apprised to that issue by us. I believe we have written to you. Can you please comment on it? This 

is very troubling. I mean here are people who have been victims 

of human trafficking. We give them a special status on their visa 

or their passport or both, and the Indian Government is seizing 

them. 

Ms. BISWAL. Thank you, Congressman. This is an issue that has 

caused concern at the Department as well. The United States 

adopted the T visa status in line with our obligations under the Palermo Protocol to permit trafficking victims to remain in the United 

States in appropriate cases and to reunite with immediate family 

members. We have expressed our concern to the Government of 

India over this alleged policy, both here in Washington and in 

India through our Ambassador, and we continue to engage with the 

Indians on this issue. 

Shortly after learning of this new policy, our officials visited in 

New Delhi and met with the Ministry of External Affairs to gather 

additional information and to obtain a copy of this new policy. Our 

Consular Affairs Bureau, our Embassy officials, and I myself personally, have raised these issues with Indian officials both as part 

of our U.S.-India consular dialogue and as part of our ongoing diplomatic engagement. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. What is the rationale you are given by the Indian 

Government? 

Ms. BISWAL. The Indian Government has said that they believe 

that our issuing visas to their citizens on issues where they believe 

there should be a domestic judicial process to address these concerns—that they don’t support that. However, I would add that this 

issue has received significant domestic attention in India as well 

and has already been challenged in the Indian courts. 

At the state level, the State of Kerala’s High Court has recently 

ruled that India’s ban on T visas violates fundamental rights guaranteed by India’s constitution. So I think that this is a policy that 

is under considerable debate and discussion within India as well as 

being the subject of U.S.-India conversations. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. All right. Well, I would appreciate you responding in writing to the requests that have been given to you by us. 

And Mr. Chairman, I would ask for unanimous consent that a 

document, a one-page document, issued by the Intelligence Bureau 

of the Ministry of Home Affairs with the Government of India regarding this issue be formally entered into the record. 

Mr. SALMON. Without objection, so ordered. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. I thank my friend. 

Final question and switching gears entirely, your turn, Mr. Stivers. I mentioned in my brief opening remarks about my concern 

about, well, my desire to see more metrics and more of a narrative 

about the cumulative positive impact, hopefully, of our economic investments in the form of foreign aid especially in South Asia. 

I want to give you the opportunity—I know you are new, but you 

are not new to the subject matter and so forth—your observations 

about that. 

40

Mr. STIVERS. Thank you, Mr. Connolly, for that question and for 

your interest in foreign assistance reform and how our foreign assistance can operate better. The United States—the administration 

and Congress—we do have to tell a better story about how our less 

than 1 percent of the Federal budget really promotes our security, 

stability in the world, our prosperity in terms of economic growth, 

and promotes our democratic values. Development is absolutely key 

to the Asia Rebalance because it engages with the people. It is not 

just government-to-government relations, but it engages the people 

and it tackles some of the challenges in their lives. 

And so the narrative about why that is important to all these important issues in the world is really a story that needs to be told 

in a much better way. Empowering the reformers who are trying 

to create change in this country. It is democratic reformers, but it 

is also women reformers who are trying to change traditions that 

are not fair and are unjust. 

And so to the extent that our assistance is promoting these values we have to talk about that. More specifically, our health investments especially in the regions—especially in Bangladesh and 

Nepal—are really achieving tremendous results. In Bangladesh we 

have helped them achieve 60 percent decreases in child and maternal mortality in recent years. In Nepal they have had a successful 

election; they are in the difficult process right now of writing a constitution. But there have been tremendous successes on nutrition. 

Same goes with India. And so in my written testimony I went more 

through some of those specific examples. 

On terms of India and Bangladesh, they are meeting their Millennium Development Goals; they are cutting poverty; they are 

really helping people and they are moving their countries along 

with relatively high economic growth rates. And we look forward 

to working with you and telling that story especially in the consideration of the budget. 

Mr. SALMON. Thank you. 

Ms. Meng? 

Ms. MENG. Thank you. 

As I mentioned earlier, we consider the country of Bangladesh a 

good friend of the United States. It is a democratic, moderate country in the region and we have happily seen it grow in economic 

power. 

However, Mr. Stivers, as you said some of the success in Bangladesh has been achieved despite a difficult political situation. 

What can the U.S. Government do to encourage a de-escalation in 

violence and political posturing? I have heard conflicting reports 

that the situation has begun to improve, and if that is true what 

can we do to continue on that path? Because there is no guarantee 

a de-escalation will be sustained. 

And in relation to that has the ongoing political standoff between 

the ruling Awami League and the BNP opposition had any adverse 

effects on the implementation of U.S. assistance programs in Bangladesh? 

Mr. STIVERS. Thank you for that question. Despite the political 

upheaval, Bangladesh has been an excellent partner with achievements in economic growth and health and agriculture, and we 

must stay engaged. We know that violence and governance chalVerDate 0ct 09 2002 12:54 Jun 01, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 Z:\WORK\_AP\032415\93911 SHIRL
41

lenges have the potential to threaten a lot of the economic development gains that have been made. The Fiscal Year 2016 budget, it includes a $10-million increase 

in support for civil society in Bangladesh. That is one of the larger 

increases within the budget for South Asia. Our support for civil 

society helps them push back on some of the negative trends that 

have been occurring politically. 

But in terms of our development successes, I mentioned the 60 

percent declines in maternal and child mortality. We have introduced new fertilizer techniques that have increased rice yields by 

20 percent, and better management of forests and wetlands. In 

terms of the economic development side for Bangladesh, there has 

been tremendous progress and so far that progress has not been 

threatened, but we must stay engaged and it is important for the 

political impasse too to hopefully be resolved soon. 

Ms. BISWAL. If I could add to what my colleague has said on the 

assistance side, we have been very engaged diplomatically on urging a lessening in the violence and an improvement in terms of the 

political climate in Dhaka, where Ambassador Marcia Bernicat 

working with her colleagues in the diplomatic community, ten 

Chiefs of Missions working together, met with leadership in both 

parties and with the government to address our concerns and to 

convey our concerns about, one, the level of violence, and two, creating conditions for greater political dialogue and to create a more 

inclusive political environment. 

We have been quite clear both privately and publicly about the 

fact that we believe there is no place for violent protest in political 

discourse and have urged that any political parties that have been 

party to such violent protest, that they have to first and foremost 

reject violence, and secondly, we have been quite clear that we 

need to see some space for a political dialogue and have urged the 

government to try to create that space. 

I do agree, Congresswoman, that there has been a decrease in violence over the past couple of weeks and we hope that that trend 

continues, and we will continue to work with our Bangladeshi 

friends. Because at the end of the day, we all want to see Bangladesh continue to move forward as a stable, secure and prosperous country that is able to provide opportunity for all of its citizens and to be able to continue to play the strong and constructive 

role that it plays in advancing global security through its contributions in peacekeeping and through other ways. So this is an issue 

where we are very intensively engaged in trying to support improvements in that political environment. 

Ms. MENG. Thank you. And I know I am running out of time, but 

if you could address this maybe in a later testimony. 

Can you expand on initiatives in India in relation to women’s 

and children’s health, and also initiatives to decrease reports of violence against women? 

Ms. BISWAL. Jon, do you want to——

Mr. STIVERS. Sure, sure. Well, thank you for that question. Women’s empowerment is a big challenge in India and indeed all of 

Asia, and gender violence certainly is a significant challenge. That 

it is one for moral reasons of course, but it also holds back development of the country and its economic growth and prosperity. 

42

As we know, empowerment of women is key to a healthy and 

strong country and economy. USAID has a number of initiatives related to that, to gender violence. We have a ‘‘Safe Cities’’ program 

which includes gender in urban planning and infrastructure, and 

we have also helped with a film called ‘‘Girl Rising,’’ which tells the 

stories of about nine women, helps raise awareness, and we have 

helped in terms of local language release and teaching materials. 

It has raised awareness and helps combat some of the negative 

issues around that in India. 

Ms. BISWAL. I would also just add that some of the most powerful 

voices on women’s empowerment and women’s security are Indian 

voices and that there has been a tremendous amount of media attention and focus within civil society and within the business community in India. And our goal is to support Indian efforts and Indian initiatives because we believe that there is very strong leadership emerging in India to address these issues. 

Mr. SALMON. Thank you. 

Mr. Bera? 

Mr. BERA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member, and 

thank the witnesses. Often when we are looking at the U.S.-India 

relationship we focus on some of the challenges, and I am actually 

going to shift this because there are a lot of positive things that 

are really happening in the relationship. 

In my opening comments I mentioned raising the FDI insurance 

caps. That is a positive step. That is something we have talked 

about for a long time and I think we should applaud the Modi administration for taking that step which will certainly help investment flows. I think tackling issues like introducing the land acquisition bill in India is a positive step, not an easy step but a positive 

step. So again I think we should applaud the Modi administration 

for that. 

Looking at some of India’s ascension going from a recipient nation to a donor nation, particularly when I look at some of the work 

they are doing in Africa, I think, is something that we should applaud. And in fact, I think, as we look at our strategy within 

USAID, the Indian diaspora has a long history in Africa and in fact 

may have a better understanding of African politics and culture 

and can very much be a strategic partner here. 

Mr. Stivers, in your written testimony I am glad you gave a 

shout-out to the University of California Davis, my home institution, and some of the work that they are doing helping address the 

food security issues both in India, but then also partnering with 

India in addressing some of the food security issues in Africa. 

There is real opportunities for our institutions of higher education, 

our research institutions to work with India. 

Now shifting to next steps. How do we continue to move forward? 

Secretary Biswal, you touched on making sure we move forward 

and finalize the bilateral investment treaty. I think that is a very 

important aspect that will then help resolve some of these issues 

for American companies and so forth. And I really do think both 

from our end making sure USGR is focused on getting a BIT 

signed, continuing to use USAID to empower India to again move 

from a recipient nation to a donor nation. 

43

And USAID has a very interesting program that was announced 

by the President in January when he was there, the Diaspora 

Bonds. The Prime Minister, in his comments here in September 

when he was in New York and Washington, DC, clearly asked the 

Indian-American diaspora that has done so well here to take the 

lead in continuing to move the relationship forward. Clearly there 

is a role in the diaspora that wants to see this relationship come 

together. And I would be curious, this is a very innovative and new 

program, if you could comment on the Diaspora Bonds. 

Mr. STIVERS. Sure. Thank you, Congressman Bera, and thank 

you for your leadership on U.S.-Indian relations which is so important because we have so many mutual interests, mutual democratic 

values where we can really work together promote a lot of good in 

this world. And I think that President Obama and Prime Minister 

Modi are really taking this relationship to a new level. 

In terms of the Diaspora Initiative, it is an innovative assistance 

program. The 3 million Indian-Americans who are living in the 

U.S. know how important that relationship is. And the initiative as 

you mentioned it partners with the Calvert Fund and private Indian financial institutions to really harness the investment potential of Indian-Americans living in the U.S. to address some of the 

social challenges that not just India faces but the development 

challenges that we have globally. And it is a very important initiative and thank you for mentioning it. 

Mr. BERA. Absolutely. And another positive is you are getting the 

framework for the DTTI engaged on the defensive side, the defense 

framework. I think that is a positive now continuing to move forward on aircraft carrier technology, on the pathfinder projects and 

so forth. Again those are some low-hanging fruit that are both in 

our interests as we see a strong India and its presence in the Indian Ocean. 

Secretary Biswal, I would be curious about your thoughts about 

the potentials here. 

Ms. BISWAL. Well, thank you very much, Congressman. Clearly 

India and India’s rise as a net security provider across the Indian 

Ocean region is going to be of growing importance. We want to 

have partners that we can work with that share our goals and values in terms of the global order and the rules based world that we 

want to see, and we know that in order to bring that about we need 

to have partner countries that can do that. And investing in India’s 

capabilities is profoundly in our self interest in that sense. 

The DTTI initiative is really focused on again advancing those 

kinds of efforts that bring Indian capabilities and really look toward advancing interoperability between our two militaries so that 

we can continue to deepen the partnership. India is taking on a 

greater role in maritime security on addressing issues like piracy 

and in creating the environment for safe commerce to occur. And 

so in DTTI we have seen in looking at carrier technology, in looking at things like the pathfinder projects and things like UAVs and 

such, we are looking at how we can invest in those capabilities. I 

think Undersecretary Kendall was just there and has been making 

good progress in that area. 

Mr. BERA. Great. So again this is an exciting time in the relationship. Undoubtedly we will encounter challenges on both sides 

44

of the partnership, but if we keep our eyes on the broader, longer 

term goal this really can be the defining partnership in this century. So thank you. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SALMON. I thank both Ms. Biswal and Mr. Stivers for coming 

and doing a very, very good job expressing the priorities, and we 

really appreciate your willingness to work closely with us as we try 

to conduct one of our most important functions and that is oversight. So thank you very, very much, and it is great to see that people move from here and go on to the other branch to live very successful careers. So thank you. 

Mr. SHERMAN. I think this demonstrates that when people with 

experience in the House move into the executive branch, the executive branch is the clear winner. And I yield back. 

Mr. SALMON. Thank you. This hearing is now concluded. Thank 

you. 

[Whereupon, at 12:12 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 

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