Blinken stresses religious freedom at Diwali event

U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken hosted a Diwali reception at the State Department Wednesday to underscore religious freedom as a key foreign policy priority of the United States.
Blinken was joined by U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain and Deputy Assistant Secretary Nancy Izzo Jackson, a diplomat in the State Department's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.
According to the State Department, the event recognizes the importance the Biden administration places on working with faith communities. Blinken said "Diwali is a celebration of the most sacred values, Love of family and kindness toward loved ones and strangers alike, forgiveness, grace, new beginnings.”