EAM S Jaishankar to hold talks with Mike Pompeo
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will hold talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New Delhi today.
MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the two leaders will exchange views on a range of bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. Terrorism, H1B visas, trade and the situation arising out of US sanctions on buying oil from Iran are expected to be discussed. This will be the first high-level engagement with the US after the General Elections in India.
Ahead of the meeting, Pompeo will call on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence in New Delhi. The Secretary of State arrived in New Delhi last night on a three-day visit to India. He is also scheduled to meet Indian and US businesses in a round table format and deliver a policy speech at the India International Centre.
Pompeo’s visit is an important opportunity for both sides to explore ways to further strengthen the India-US Strategic Partnership. Diplomatic sources said the talks should be seen as a getting to know each other meeting, rather than one with concrete deliverables and agreements. Sources said, there has been substantial progress on this front with trade going up by double digits in the last three years and trade deficit going down by double digits.
