Biden selects Eric Garcetti as ambassador to India; nominates Arun Venkataraman to key position

US president Joe Biden plans to announce that he has selected R Nicholas Burns, a former ambassador to NATO, as his ambassador to China, and Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles as his ambassador to India, the New York Times reported late on Wednesday (26), citing two people familiar with the process.

Biden has also selected Thomas R Nides, a vice chairman at Morgan Stanley who served as a deputy secretary of state under former president Barack Obama, to serve as the ambassador to Israel, the newspaper said

He also announced his intent to nominate Indian-American trade expert Arun Venkataraman to a key position in his administration related to foreign commercial service, reported the PTI.

Venkataraman is the nominee for director general of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service and assistant secretary for Global Markets, Department of Commerce, the White House said.

He is currently the counselor to the secretary of commerce, advising the department on trade and other international economic matters.

He was a senior director at Visa, leading global government engagement strategy on a range of international policy issues including digital economy, trade, tax and sanctions.

Arun Venkataraman

Venkataraman previously served as the trade and investment policy advisor at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where he counselled multinational firms and other organisations on e-commerce, intellectual property rights, and US and foreign trade policies.

As the first ever Director of Policy at the Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration under President Barack Obama, Venkataraman helped shape the US government's responses to critical challenges faced by firms in the country and in markets around the world, including China and India, the White House said.

While at the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), he led the development and implementation of the US-India trade policy as the Director for India, for which he received the agency's Kelly Award for outstanding performance and extraordinary leadership.

He also served as the associate general counsel, representing the US in litigation before the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in negotiations on international trade agreements.

Before joining the USTR, Venkataraman was a legal officer at the WTO, advising the organisation on a wide range of issues raised in appeals of trade disputes between countries.

He began his career as a law clerk for Judge Jane A Restani at the US Court of International Trade. He holds a JD from the Columbia Law School, a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a BA from the Tufts University.

Other nominees

Rahm Emanuel, the former mayor of Chicago and Obama's chief of staff, has been selected to serve as ambassador to Japan, according to the New York Times.

Cindy McCain, the widow of the late US Senator John McCain, is said to be Biden's pick to serve as ambassador to the UN World Food Program, while Mark Gitenstein, a former ambassador to Romania, is said to be in consideration for ambassador to the EU, the New York Times reported.

Biden is also considering nominating Mark Brzezinski, who served as ambassador to Sweden during the Obama administration, as his ambassador to Poland, the report added.

Ken Salazar, a former senator from Colorado and the interior secretary in the Obama administration, is said to have been chosen as the ambassador to Mexico, the newspaper said.