A senior American diplomat has had a meeting with the members of the Jain community in Los Angeles, as part of the efforts of the US State Department to interact with the Indian-American diaspora, which plays a critical role in the ties between the two countries.

Assistant Secretary of South and Central Asia Donald Lu visited the Southern California Jain temple and had a meeting with members of the local Jain community.

During the meeting, Lu expressed gratitude for the opportunity to connect with the Jain community in Southern California, acknowledging its significant contributions to the broader Los Angeles area, a media release said.

He emphasised the vital role of Indian-Americans in strengthening the relationship between the United States and India, stating, "Indian-Americans are the backbone of our strong relationship with India. It was wonderful to connect with the Jain community in Southern California and learn about their many contributions to the wider Los Angeles area."

Among the Jain leaders were Ajay Jain Bhutoria, US President's Advisor on the Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Commissioner; JAINA past president Mahesh Wadher and Jain temple president Sameer Shah.

During the visit, Shah, Wadher and the temple executive team provided invaluable insights to Lu into Jainism, its food practices, philosophy of non-violence, Lord Mahavir's message of peace, compassion and non-violence, the Jain way of fasting traditions, and the community outreach and philanthropy work carried out by JAINA and the Jain temple to support individuals both locally in Los Angeles and in other parts of the US and abroad, in places like India and Nigeria.

Bhutoria expressed his appreciation for the State Department team's visit to the Jain temple, highlighting the importance of Lord Mahavir's message of promoting peace, non-violence and compassion. Bhutoria emphasised that the US-India relationship is the strongest under President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Tony Blinken and that these people-to-people dialogues would further strengthen the US-India relationship and help promote American interests and shared values.