Remarks & Speeches

Ambassador David C. Mulford’s remarks
Sue M. Cobb Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service
November 7^th, 2007, 12:00 p.m.

I would like to begin by thanking Ambassador Sen and Mrs. Sen for making the time to be here with us today.  Ambassador Sen, this award is a testament to the hard work we have done together to strengthen U.S.-India bilateral ties.  The linkages between our two great democracies are stronger now than they have been at any point during our 60 years of diplomatic relations and I look forward to a future, as I know you do, where our partnership grows even stronger.

My sincere thanks also to Deputy Secretary Negroponte, to Director Whiteside, to Under Secretary Burns, and to Under Secretary Fore for their unstinting support for Mission India over the past four years, and for taking a few minutes out of what I know are busy days to join Jeannie and me for this ceremony.

Most of all, I would like to thank Ambassador Sue M. Cobb for the honor of being the first recipient of the annual award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service that bears her name.   
Ambassador Cobb’s distinguished career in government has included service as Florida’s Secretary of State, four years as United States Ambassador to Jamaica, three terms as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in Miami and participation in numerous non-profit organizations. In the private sector, Ambassador Cobb led several successful Florida corporations and law firms.

Beyond her remarkable achievements in government, diplomacy and business, Ambassador Cobb is also an accomplished mountaineer, and was a member of the Wyoming Centennial Everest Expedition which, in September and October 1988, attempted to climb Mount Everest from the Chinese side. 

My reading about the expedition suggests that her experience in training for and organizing that event prepared her better than any of her other achievements for life in government, as one of the members of her expedition wrote,  “The costly bureaucratic hassles and the transportation difficulties made just getting to the mountain an achievement.”

When President Bush asked me to become the United States Ambassador to India, Jeannie and I sat down at our kitchen table and made the fastest big decision of our twenty-eight years together to go to India and return to public life.  We were drawn by the unique moment in time in the U.S.- India relationship and by the opportunity to return to public service.

Our decision has been validated, if you will, by the transformation of the U.S.-India relationship during our nearly four years in India.  The partnership between our two countries covers every conceivable arena from defense to education, agriculture to scientific cooperation.

The people-to-people ties, always strong, are growing exponentially.  Our consular sections this year processed more than 725,000 nonimmigrant visas, up more than 30 percent from the last fiscal year.  That growth is poised to continue, and I believe that we will process more than one million visas for India citizens by the year 2010.

This year the United States will host more than 80,000 Indian students, the most from any country in the world.  These ties will pull our two countries closer together into a partnership beneficial for both nations, and befitting the natural friendship between the world’s oldest and the world’s largest democracies.

India is currently in the midst of an internal political debate about the future of civil nuclear cooperation which will benefit both of our nations.  I don’t wish to dwell on that today, only to say that is my sincere hope and belief that we will move forward in the civil nuclear arena - and all others - as partners and as friends.

In my time as Ambassador to India, I have tried to use my private sector leadership and management skills to carry out the United States foreign policy.  To have been nominated for this award by my staff at Embassy New Delhi is a tremendous honor, and I want to thank them for that, and for their dedicated service.

I am a believer in proactive diplomacy and the Mission India team has committed wholeheartedly to that vision.  The transformed relationship between our two countries would not have been possible without the work of many skilled Foreign Service officers and specialists, and our talented local staff.  I am proud to be associated with them and look forward to our future work together in support of the President and the Secretary’s goals for U.S.-India relations.

When Jeannie and I went through the training course for new, non-career Ambassadors and their families at the Foreign Service Institute, one responsibility above all others was impressed upon us.  We were responsible not just for the conduct of diplomacy, but most importantly for the safety and welfare of all the members of the Embassy community – employees and families alike.

Jeannie and I took this charge to heart, and have tried to do our part to contribute to the morale and spirit of our Embassy New Delhi community.  We sponsor two Little League teams, the Ambassador’s Diamondbacks and the Roosevelt Royals, and we try never to miss a game of either team.  I’m pleased to be able to report that the Diamondbacks are at the top of their league, and that the entire league is thriving.

Under the leadership of several members of our Embassy community, with my full support, India hosted its first ever officially sanctioned Little League game on the Embassy New Delhi ball field just this year.

We try to make Roosevelt House, our official residence, a center of the Embassy’s social life, and want all members of the Embassy community to feel welcome there.  We have hosted several Marine Balls in our garden, and look forward to continuing the tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving and the holiday season with receptions at our home.

Family is the most important thing in the world to me, and there is nothing Jeannie and I take more seriously than the well-being and happiness of the families of our community.  I have the highest respect for the Foreign Service community at  Embassy New Delhi and around the world and am honored to have had the chance to join and lead that community at such an important juncture in our relationship with India.

In closing, I would like to thank my most important partner, my wife, Jeannie.  Over the past month, Jeannie has been in the forefront of our efforts to effect what Under Secretary Hughes calls “the diplomacy of deeds.”

Jeannie has shared the personal story of her battle with breast cancer with the people of India.  I have been amazed and gratified at the effect her story has had on people throughout the country, and I firmly believe that her courage and grace in sharing her struggle will save countless lives.

Our partnership has been without a doubt the greatest blessing of my life, and to work together to serve the interests of the people of the United States in India is a great privilege.

Thank you again to Ambassador Cobb and to the awards committee for this honor.