On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive in India for a two-day visit with a packed agenda that includes the quickly changing security environment in Afghanistan, strengthening Indo-Pacific cooperation, and methods to improve COVID-19 response operations, among other things.
It will be Mr Blinken’s first travel to India since taking office as US Secretary of State, and the third by a senior Biden administration official since the administration took power in January.
In March, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited India, while in April, US Special Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry visited New Delhi.
On Wednesday, Mr Blinken will meet with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi before departing for Kuwait on his two-nation tour.
“Secretary Blinken’s visit provides a chance to continue high-level bilateral dialogue and strengthen the India-US global strategic partnership,” the Ministry of External Affairs said when the visit was announced last week.
“Both parties will assess the robust and varied bilateral relations between India and the United States, as well as the prospects for further consolidation,” it stated.
The conversations, according to Dean Thompson, Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, would focus on strengthening partnerships in the areas of security, defence, cyber, and counterterrorism cooperation.
“On these topics, we engage across the administration, including through monthly US-India working group meetings,” he added. “We look forward to further strengthening our ties with India to promote a safer and more secure world.”
According to people familiar with the visit’s agenda, both sides will discuss the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has increased its attacks in an attempt to grab control of new territories.
In the previous few weeks, Afghanistan has seen a spate of terror strikes as the US evacuated the majority of its soldiers, with the goal of completing the drawdown by August 31, ending nearly two decades of military presence in the nation.
Prior to the next edition of the 2+2 defence and foreign ministerial conversation, which will be held in the United States later this year, the two sides are anticipated to discuss methods to deepen defence partnership, including exercises, defence transfers, and technologies, they added.
Both parties will also talk about how to deepen involvement in the Indo-Pacific area and how to improve COVID-19 response efforts.
The two parties are also likely to discuss how to put the Quad vaccination plan into action.
According to the persons described above, they will also look at ways to strengthen trade and investment connections, as well as potential in healthcare, education, and the digital realms.
According to the persons stated above, India would continue to fight for open and stable supply chains for materials and commodities essential for vaccine manufacture in the negotiations.
The meetings are also anticipated to focus on strengthening defence and strategic partnerships.
Defence ties between India and the United States have improved in recent years. The United States named India as a “Major Defense Partner” in June 2016.
In recent years, the two countries have also signed important defence and security agreements, such as the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016, which allows their militaries to use each other’s bases for supply repair and replenishment while also allowing for deeper cooperation.
