WASHINGTON: US Vice President Kamala Harris remembered her maternal grandfather P V Gopalan and visited his family house in Zambia’s capital Lusaka where he lived as an Indian Foreign Service official in the 1960s during her trip to the African country.

Born in Chennai in 1911, Gopalan was an advisor to first President of Zambia Kenneth Kaunda and served as Joint Secretary to the Government of India in the 1960s. “My visit to Zambia has a special significance for me, as many of you know, and for my family. As you know, I visited Zambia, Mr President, as a young girl when my grandfather worked here,” Harris told reporters in Lusaka at a joint news conference with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.

“In 1966, shortly after Zambia’s independence, he came to Lusaka to serve as a director of relief measures and refugees. That was his title. He served as an advisor to Zambia’s first president, Kenneth Kaunda. And he was an expert on refugee resettlement,” she said.

While in Lusaka in the 1960s, Gopalan lived at 16 Independence Avenue, where 58-year-old Harris visited as a little girl. Though the numbering of addresses has since changed and the location was ultimately identified using plot numbers in public records and land surveys, according to a White House official.

“I remember my time here fondly. I was a child, so it is the memory of a child. But I remember being here and just how it felt, the warmth and the excitement that was present,” Harris said.

“So, from my family and from all of us, we extend our greetings and hello to everyone here,” Harris added.

The US Embassy in Lusaka pursued research to identify the location of this home, including going through public records, engaging with Zambian and Indian authorities, and speaking with those who worked in the Zambian government at the time, said the official on condition of anonymity.