New Delhi: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in New Delhi on Tuesday evening with a prime focus on bolstering India-US bilateral ties and discuss other regional and global issues including the situation in Afghanistan.
US department spokesperson Ned Price took to Twitter and said "@SecBlinken is wheels down in New Delhi for meetings with our Indian partners. We’re excited to expand the strong and growing #USIndia partnership".
On Wednesday, Blinken is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with his counterpart Dr Jaishankar. He will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and meet NSA Doval.
This visit is Secretary Blinken’s first visit to India after assuming charge as U.S. Secretary of State and second as Biden’s high ranking official since it came to power in January this year.
Also read: Blinken to visit India today to discuss bilateral cooperation, regional issues
Afghanistan is likely to be the key discussion as the US is intensifying the drawdown of its troops with the Taliban continuing to push its military offensiveness in Afghanistan.
India has been watching with concern as the Taliban have rapidly spread its venom and eyeing to take over, invoking fears of the return of their brutal practices and activities. India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has raised the issue during his visit to Washington DC in May this year.
Secretary Blinken's visit is an opportunity to continue the high-level bilateral dialogue and bolster the India-US global strategic partnership.
Both sides will review the robust and multifaceted India-US bilateral relations, and the potential for consolidating them further.
Discussions will focus on regional and global issues of mutual interest – including recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indo-Pacific region, Afghanistan and cooperation in the UN.
Earlier this week, US acting assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs Dean Thompson said that both human rights and democracy would be raised during the secretary of state’s engagements in India.
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In response to that, the Indian government pushed back and said that India's proud of its achievements in the domains of both human rights and democracy.
It stated that as a long-standing pluralistic society, India is open to engaging those who now recognize the value of diversity.
