New Delhi, November 4
India has approved the “agrement” of Mr David C. Mulford, a Republican politician close to President George W. Bush, who has been proposed by Washington as the next US Ambassador to India, diplomatic sources here told The Tribune today.
The Bush administration had sent Mr Mulford’s “agrement” to the Vajpayee government and New Delhi has conveyed its acceptance, sources said.
“Agrement” is a French word, pronounced as ‘agrima’ which means giving advance details about a prospective diplomatic envoy to the receiving country for seeking approval in principle.
Now the US Senate has to clear Mr Mulford’s appointment which would take place in due course.
Diplomatic observers here attach a lot of significance to Mr Mulford’s India assignment for a host of reasons.
Mr Mulford is neither a career diplomat nor a hardcore India-worshipper like the last US Ambassador to India, Mr Robert D. Blackwill. He was US Ambassador to Argentina during the turbulent 2001 when Argentinian economy was passing through a crisis. Mr Mulford is more of a politician with expertise on economic affairs and a reputation of pushing financial deals.
Mr Mulford, who worked in the Treasury Department during the Presidency of Mr Ronald Reagan and Mr George Bush, senior, is not an Indologist or even an expert on South Asia or Asia. He has done his doctorate from Oxford University and is an authority on Africa.
