The Senate on Friday approved former Rep. Tim Roemer (D-Ind.) as ambassador to India, dispatching him to the world’s second most populous country just before Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrives next week for an official visit.Roemer, 52, has been serving as president of the Center for National Policy, a bipartisan think tank in Washington, D.C. He was a member of the bipartisan commission that investigated and reported on the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.In 1997, Roemer helped found the centrist New Democrat Coalition, which promotes free trade, high technology and pro-growth policies. He served for 12 years in the House, choosing not to seek re-election in 2002.President Barack Obama announced his selection of Roemer on May 28 and formally sent the nomination to the Senate on June 11. Roemer appeared before the Foreign Relations Committee on July 7, and the Senate waved through his nomination by unanimous consent Friday.“One of the priorities for the current ongoing relationship between the people of India and the United States is to work to break the impasse on the Doha Round [global trade talks] and facilitate fair and free trade to create jobs in the United States,— Roemer said during his confirmation hearing. “This is a key issue, to break down barriers, to increase trade, trade that has increased from about $13 billion to over $44 billion in the last six years.—Obama has moved to fill the top two diplomatic posts in Asia with moderate, experienced politicians with reputations for bipartisanship; in May he nominated Utah’s moderate GOP Gov. Jon Huntsman to be ambassador to China.