Washington:
Lauding the Asian Americans and Pacific Islander community, US Vice President Joe Biden has said they have made an immense contribution to the country's socio-political and economic fabric.
"All of you represent the business community, the education community, the military community, you represent the president's commission, you're all among the most talented people in the country," Biden told the invited guests at the AAPI reception hosted by him.
The reception was attended by many Indian-Americans including actor Kal Penn.
Some of the other prominent guests included Lavanya and Melissa Jawaharlal, founders of STEM Center, Ana M MA, COO of the Human Rights Campaign, former White House Cabinet secretary and deputy secretary of Labor Chris Lu.
"You all know that all of the action, I don't want to say all-80 per cent of the action is going to be where you all came from. It's going to be in the Pacific. It's going to be in Asia. It's the growth for the world. It's the economy. There is a great deal at stake," Biden said.
In his remarks, Biden said that having AAPI leaders from America is important to the outreach efforts to the Asian and Pacific regions of the world.
"It is a simple proposition, people are more comfortable when they know who we are," he said.
The Vice President finished his talk by remarking about the pool in the Naval Observatory (his residence) backyard that the guests could see, noting it had been installed by former Vice President Dan Quayle.