Bengaluru | External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday that he had urged the United States to establish a US consulate in Bengaluru and promised to open an Indian diplomatic mission in Los Angeles.

Jaishankar was in Bengaluru on Friday to attend the "site dedication ceremony" for the fifth US consulate in India, which will start operating in Bengaluru soon.

"It has been something long in waiting, one which I believe Bengaluru legitimately deserved and expected," said Jaishankar.

According to him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2023 had brought up the issue of opening a consulate in Bengaluru when he visited the US.

To begin with, the consulate in Bengaluru will not be offering visa services, said Eric Garcetti, US Ambassador for India, while delivering his speech.

Jaishankar had urged him to offer visa services too as soon as possible. "I was checking figures, and was very glad to see that last year, the RPO (Regional Passport Office) Bengaluru issued 8,83,000 passports. That's just for one year. Do the math, and you will see how important it is to ensure that travel is smooth," said Jaishankar.

He also said India has about 3,50,000 students in the US and a diaspora of five million people, building a powerful case for the US to get around to issuing visas from Bengaluru as early as possible.