Finance
According to the State Department, a high-level US delegation will visit India beginning Monday to attend key meetings to deepen the bilateral strategic partnership and discuss ways to expand cooperation to support a free and open, resilient, and secure Indo-Pacific region.
Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, will lead the US delegation to India from September 5 to September 8.
The State Department said in a statement on Saturday that Lu will be joined by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Camille Dawson for a Quad Senior Officials Meeting and Department of Defence Assistant Secretary for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner for a US-India 2+2 Intersessional Meeting and Maritime Security Dialogue.
The meeting’s goal is to “deepen the US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership,” according to the statement.
“The delegation will meet with senior Indian officials to discuss ways in which the United States and India can expand our cooperation to support a free and open, connected, prosperous, resilient, and secure Indo-Pacific region where human rights are respected,” the statement said.
In the face of China’s rising military maneuvering in the resource-rich region, India, the United States, and several other world powers have discussed the importance of ensuring a free, open, and thriving Indo-Pacific.
Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam all claim parts of the disputed South China Sea. In the South China Sea, Beijing has constructed artificial islands and military installations.
Lu will also attend a US-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment event with female entrepreneurs. According to the State Department, the event aims to increase economic security through meaningful participation of women in the labor force.
“He will also engage in a roundtable discussion with senior business executives about how India can realise its full economic potential over the next 25 years to become a central hub in global supply chains,” it said.
Source:IE
