New Delhi: India and the US Wednesday reaffirmed the priority attached to their bilateral strategic partnership and discussed ways in which to energise the existing dialogue mechanisms as senior US diplomat Nisha Desai Biswal, an Indian American, held talks with Indian officials here.
Biswal, the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, is on her first visit to India in her current capacity. She arrived in New Delhi on March 4, after spending a day on an official visit to Bangalore.
During her official meetings in New Delhi, Biswal held detailed discussions on India-US relations with her counterpart, Vikram Doraiswami, joint secretary for the Americas in the ministry of external affairs.
“The two sides discussed the current state of the bilateral relationship, and considered measures to achieve progress in resolving to mutual satisfaction issues that have emerged on either side in recent months,” said a ministry of external affairs statement.
“Both sides reaffirmed the priority attached to the India-US strategic partnership, and discussed ways in which existing dialogue mechanisms could be energized to generate fresh momentum over the next few months.
“Particular mention was made of the upcoming calendar of visits, including the visit next week of US Energy Secretary Ernest J Moniz for the bilateral Energy Dialogue,” the statement said.
Assistant Secretary Biswal also met other senior MEA officers “to obtain a broader briefing of India’s perspective of the region and beyond. She will also be engaged in further meetings in MEA over the course of March 6”.
Biswal also called on Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, who underlined in this context the need for officials on both sides to expeditiously resolve outstanding issues, to enable both sides to focus their energies on the substantive and strategic issues that underpin this vital partnership, said the statement.
Biswal’s is the first top level US visit after the recent India-US stand-off over the treatment meted out to Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York.