US Secretary of State in India to expand ties |
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on his maiden visit to India 27th and 28th July. The focus of the high level US visit is to expand bilateral ties between India and US, regional issues including Afghanistan, global terrorism, Indo-pacific, among other issues with Indian officials. On 28th July Blinken met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. Both sides reviewed the robust and multi-faceted India-US bilateral relations and potential for consolidating them further. Agenda includes augmenting trade and investment and tapping opportunities in health care, education, digital domain, innovation and security. On the defence front, both sides agreed to deepen collaboration - policy exchanges, military exercises, and defence transfers and technologies. All the discussions during Blinken`s visit will form the core agenda for detailed discussions and agreements for the fourth 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue due to take place in the US later in 2021. An important strategic agenda is deepening Quad engagement as there is a possibility of a Foreign Ministerial Quad meeting later in 2021. India and the US will push the Quad vaccine initiative to enable the supply of vaccines produced in India from early 2022 to countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Blinken`s trip will follow a visit by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to China and coincide with one to Southeast Asia by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
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