SPOKANE, Wash. – Seattle’s Consulate General of India visited Spokane on Tuesday and made several public appearances to strengthen the relationship between India’s government and local leaders in eastern Washington.
Consul General Prakash Gupta has served as a diplomat in several countries, including China and Indonesia. He was appointed the Consul General of India in Seattle in Nov. 2023 when the consulate opened.
In addition to providing visa and passport services, the consulate promotes the civic and business interests of India in the US, providing the basis for new economic relationships between the Americas and South Asia.
Gupta visited Gonzaga University, Washington State University Spokane and spoke with Mayor Lisa Brown on Tuesday before preparing to push off to Pullman for a visit to WSU’s main campus on Wednesday.
“My meeting with the General Consul of India was extremely positive. We discussed a cultural exchange, as well as a potential trade mission involving agriculture. This was the start of a great partnership and I look forward to more collaboration in the coming months,” Brown said.
India’s Seattle Consulate is planning a culture week for Spokane in 2025, and has invited Brown to join a trade delegation to India next year. These events could blaze new pathways for business development that could provide a boost to cities in eastern Washington and India.
“We have discussed some excellent potential for cooperation between India and Spokane,” Gupta said. “The areas where we think there is considerable economic potential between India and Washington State…are to do with high-end technologies, space technologies, agricultural technologies and I’d even say biopharmaceuticals and biotechnology.”
Indian business leaders from the aforementioned industries will visit Spokane in early 2025, with the potential for discussions with the mayor’s office on how to forge financial connections with the Lilac City.
“There is considerable market energy in India, and it’s a market waiting to be tapped, so there’s great economic investment opportunities on both sides,” Gupta said.
Gupta has also connected with Spokane’s Indian-American community, and extolled their critical contributions to Spokane.
“The Indian-American population here is a living bridge and a testament to the everlasting friendship that is between India and the United States…They form the bedrock of the strategic partnership between the two countries,” Gupta said.
The consul general also highlighted the availability of all consulate services in Seattle, as well as the consulate’s commitment to supporting Indians in Spokane.
“We have an initiative called Consulate at Your Doorstep where we bring the consulate on a particular week to a particular city…we can do another one in Spokane if the Indian community is interested in having that kind of activity here,” Gupta said.
Overall, it was a productive Tuesday for the consul general, who will continue visiting with civic, business and academic leaders in eastern Washington this week.
Given that India has the largest democracy in the world and is amongst the fastest growing tech and agricultural centers on the planet, the recently opened consulate is poised to bring new opportunities to the northwest.
