U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi for the 5th U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue to be hld on July31.
This meeting and subsequent dialogue assumes much significance as
this will will be the first high-level bilateral diplomatic interaction
between the two sides since Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata
Party came to power in India and his meeting will lay the groundwork
for Prime Minister Modi’s September visit to the United States and will
redefine the direction of the U.S.-India partnership.
Secretary
Kerry will be accompanied by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker,
who will lead discussions to strengthen economic ties between the U.S.
and India. Other members of the interagency, including Deputy Secretary
of Energy Daniel Poneman, Department of Homeland Security Under
Secretary Francis Taylor, and NASA Associate Administrator Michael
O'Brien, are also scheduled to join the trip.
Kerry will also
meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will discuss bilateral issues,
including expanding bilateral trade, tackling climate change, improving
India’s energy security.
Ahead of his visit to Delhi,Kerry in an
address to the Washington-based Centre for American Progress think tank
said,"Now is the time to renew that dialogue with a new government, with
a new set of opportunities, new possibilities.The Strategic Dialogue
is a "potentially transformative moment" in our partnership with India,
and we’re determined to deliver on the strategic and historic
opportunities that we can create together.”
In his
remarks Monday evening, Kerry specifically emphasized the United States’
interest in working with the Modi government. Kerry praised Modi’s
development initiatives, specifically citing Modi’s “Sab ka saath, sab
ka vikas” slogan (“Together with all, development for all”.
Kerry
praised Modi’s intent to make India a leader in South Asia, ”And by
inviting leaders from around the region to his swearing-in, and by
bringing them together to speak about connecting their economies as one
of his first orders of business, he is eager for India to play a leading
role. And guess what? So are we.”
India-US ties were damaged
due slow progress in th India-US nuclear deal, Indian diplomat
Devyani Khobragade episode over visa fraud charges , slowing economic
reforms in India and complaints of protectionism by both. But Modi
Government is likely to raise concerns over spying/snooping scandal.
India
and the United States launched the ministerial-level strategic Dialogue
in July 2009, focusing on five pillars of mutual interest, namely:
Strategic Cooperation; Energy and Climate Change, Education and
Development; Economy, Trade and Agriculture; Science and Technology,
Health and Innovation.
No comments:
Post a Comment