Newmai News Network Aizawl | January 15 US government will continue to extend assistance to Mizoram to combat drug menace and check the spread of AIDS in Mizoram state, US ambassador to India Richard Verma said during a press conference on Friday here. Verma, who arrived Friday on a two-day visit to Mizoram, said that US government’s Drugs Enforcement Agency (DEA) will continue assisting the Mizoram government in combating drug menace in the state. “DEA has been involved from the beginning and so we are very proud of the work that DEA does across the globe, DEA is present in Delhi and we are going to follow up with them,” he said. US government has helped Mizoram Excise and Narcotics Department by imparting special training and providing equipment for fighting drug menace, considering the state’s strategic location close to Myanmar through which drugs from the Golden Triangle are smuggled to western countries, he said. Verma also said that US government is ready to send researchers to study the cause of speedy spread of AIDS in the state. He said the US government will cooperate with the Mizoram State AIDS Control Society (MSACS) through ‘Project Sunrise’ in combating spread of HIV & AIDS. According to him, HIV & AIDS treatment and prevention has been one of the top priorities of US in India as well as Mizoram and the US government launched Project Sunrise in Mizoram to fight spread of AIDS. Verma also said that US is looking for opportunities to increase investment in Mizoram. He said both US and India are equally interested in the two way nature of investment and people must know that US is open for business. “Increasingly we see large amount of Indian investment and business connection in US,” he stated, adding that economic connection at the end help people. On the issue of Indo-US relation, Verma said it will continue to be strong. “We had gains over the past twenty years in democratic and republican administration and we are proud of the leadership of former president Barak Obama,” he said. The new team in Washington, he added, will continue to give public support to augment Indo-US ties.
