SEATTLE: Hon’ble Governor of Montana Greg Gianforte hosted a special welcome reception at the State Capitol in Helena today in honor of students from Montana who had recently returned from a two-week visit to India.
The ten-member student delegation from Montana to India was led by Mr. Jason Smith, Member of the Board of Directors of the Montana World Affairs Council. Their itinerary included prominent heritage landmarks and experiences such as the Rath Yatra in Odisha, the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the ISKCON Temple in Vrindavan, the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Konark Sun Temple in Odisha, and Lucknow’s Bara Imambara and Rumi Darwaza.
The Consulate General of India in Seattle worked in close partnership with the Montana World Affairs Council to arrange this exclusively curated visit from 26 June – 9 July 2025. The program featured interactions with senior government officials of the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, visits to leading educational institutions such as KIIT/KISS in Odisha and CMS in Lucknow, and vibrant exchanges with their youth counterparts in Lucknow and Bhubaneswar. During this immersive experience, the Montana students also participated in interactive workshops aimed at deepening their understanding and appreciation of Indian arts and culture.
It may be noted that these students were selected through a competitive and extensive series of India-focused outreach programs across multiple school districts of Montana, culminating in the Indian Film Festival at the University of Montana in Missoula earlier this year (2–4 March 2025).
Addressing the welcome reception at Helena, Governor Greg Gianforte welcomed the initiative of the newly opened Indian Consulate in promoting people-to-people ties, especially among the youth of the two countries. Recalling his India visit, Mr. Jason Smith, the delegation head, said “I have always found my time in India to be magical. The people are warm and wonderful—the sights, the sounds are so unique. There’s no place like it on Planet Earth. It is really important for our young delegation to spend time with their peers and to learn firsthand that there is more that unites us than makes us different.”
During the welcome reception, the Montana students narrated their Incredible India experiences to an audience of leading scholars, media representatives, and industry leaders who had gathered at the State Capitol in Helena. The delegation’s visit underscored the importance of developing deeper ties between the next generation of young leaders from India and the United States.
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