Washington: Describing India as “incredibly important”, Pramila Jayapal, the first ever Indian-American woman to be elected to the US House of Representatives feels there is a lot to be done to make sure the US continues to support India on everything from poverty to clean energy.

Ms Jayapal, 51, was elected to the US House of Representatives from the Seventh Congressional District of Washington State. She is the first Indian-American woman to be ever elected to the House.

“I think India is not only incredibly important to me not only because I was actually born in India. I am very deeply tied with India. My parents still live in India. They live in Bangalore. My son was born in India. For me the relationship between the US and India is not only a political relationship, but also a personal relationship. It is actually what I live every day,” Ms Jayapal said.

Born in Chennai, she left India at the age of five for Indonesia, Singapore and then came to the US at the age of 16. Ms Jayapal said she believes there is still work to be done to make sure the US continues to support the forward movement of India on everything from poverty to clean energy.