India, US tighten embrace |
With VK Singh meeting US secretary of state Rex Tillerson in Manila on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting, it caps a week of renewed engagement between India and the US. It comes at a time when the Trump administration is working on a South Asia policy to deal with one of the longest and most difficult wars in Afghanistan. Senior ranking officials from State, Pentagon and National Security Council were in India recently to participate in a 1.5 track dialogue organised by the MEA and think tank Ananta Centre. Alice Wells, acting assistant secretary for south Asia, Lisa Curtis, senior director in NSC and Cara Abercrombie from the Pentagon met foreign secretary Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval among others. The fact that India is watching the Trump administration`s evolving South Asia/Af-Pak policy with interest was clear from foreign minister Sushma Swaraj`s statement at the Indo-US forum where she said, India deeply appreciates the sacrifices made by the US to preserve peace, security and democracy in Afghanistan.
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