Congressman Gregory Meeks, who backs a strong US-India relationship, was on Thursday elected as the next chairman of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, becoming the first African-American to head the Congressional panel that plays an influential role in shaping the country’s foreign policy.
Meeks, 67, would replace fellow Democratic Congressman Eliott Engel from New York as the Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the 117th Congress next year.
Meeks, who had paid floral tributes at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Gandhi Plaza on October 2, is also a powerful member of the Black Caucus.