Finance
According to the State Department, the US diplomat in charge of political affairs is in India for consultations with the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi.
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland will lead the US delegation to the annual foreign office consultations, which will “cover the full range of bilateral, regional, and global issues,” the State Department said on Friday.
She will also meet with young tech leaders, according to the report.
Her visit to India is part of a week-long trip through Asia that begins on Saturday and includes stops in Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Qatar.
During her visit to Sri Lanka, which will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the country’s diplomatic relations and the US, she will convey Washington’s “support for Sri Lanka’s efforts to stabilise the economy, protect human rights, and promote reconciliation”, the Department said.
In Nepal, Nuland will meet with the new government of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who took office last month, to discuss the broad agenda of the two countries’ partnership.
Qatar represents US interests in Afghanistan because Washington does not recognize the Taliban regime.
The Department said that there Nuland will discuss “our bilateral arrangement on the protection of US interests in Afghanistan”.
“Global issues under the framework of the US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue and that country’s critical support for the relocation of Afghans with ties to the US,” will also figure in her discussions with leaders there, it noted.
The foreign office consultations are held on an annual basis to review the two countries’ entire range of cooperation under the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, including political, economic, commercial, regional, and international cooperation.
The most recent such consultation took place in March of last year.
Although the US and India have been growing closer, New Delhi’s apparent neutrality in the Ukraine war, as well as its continued purchase of Russian oil, remains a sticking point, despite Washington’s diplomats’ glossing over it.
Source:OCN
