U.S. Consul General, Tamil Nadu IT Minister Open OSAC India’s Annual General Meeting in Chennai to Foster Public-Private Security Cooperation

CHENNAI: U.S. Consul General Chennai Chris Hodges and Tamil Nadu Minister of Information Technology and Digital Services Dr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan hosted the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) India annual general meeting in Chennai with the aim of fostering cooperation among U.S. Government and U.S. private-sector security professionals across the country.

OSAC is a public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and security professionals from U.S. organizations operating abroad.

Together, OSAC members share timely security information and maintain strong bonds for the protection of U.S. interests overseas.

The U.S. Consulate General Chennai and diplomatic and corporate security personnel across India used the conference to collaborate with U.S. and Indian private sector partners on trainings, consultations, events, alerts, and analysis. 

Diplomatic Security Regional Security Officer Scott Schonauer from U.S. Consulate General Chennai said, “As security specialists and partners, we aim to build trust through networks with Indian private sector counterparts that model gender equity, and better anticipate security issues, including identifying and tracking threats.”

Tamil Nadu IT Minister Dr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said, “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) are in the DNA of Tamil Nadu. It is good to see OSAC too is following the same. The scale of today’s event is reflective of U.S.-India relationship – commercially and strategically. In this era of targeted threats, we need to stay advanced and keep learning everyday to keep ourselves safe. OSAC is a great model of private-public partnership.”