New Delhi: In the first high-level visit from any country following the Lok Sabha polls, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo will be in India June 25-27 and hold talks with the leadership here to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.
Pompeo’s visit comes ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28-29.
During his visit, Pompeo would hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and call upon other dignitaries, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a media briefing here Friday.
“We look upon the visit as an important opportunity for both sides to further strengthen the India-US strategic partnership and continue high-level engagement on matters of mutual interest, including bilateral, regional and global issues,” Kumar told reporters.
“This is the first high-level engagement between India and the US following the elections. This is also the first incoming high-level visit from any country. We look upon this visit as an opportunity to discuss all the issues which will be on the table,” added Kumar.
Pompeo also spoke Thursday with Jaishankar and underscored the Trump administration’s strong commitment to work closely with India to advance the bilateral strategic partnership.
State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said Secretary Pompeo and Jaishankar discussed shared US and Indian objectives in safeguarding a free and open Indo-Pacific, US India security cooperation, and the US-India economic partnership.
Asked about media reports on the US considering caps on H-1B work visa, Kumar said, “”We have not heard anything officially from the US government. We continue to reiterate and engage with the US government on this matter.”
On whether the issue will be taken up with Pompeo during his visit here, Kumar said it would not be right to speculate on the agenda of his meetings here.
“There is no (official) report as such. There is no US official who has come up with a statement. It is a source-based report. We have not yet heard anything from the US government on this. We remain engaged with the US administration, we remain engaged with the Congress on this issue,” Kumar informed.
Kumar said it is important to understand that in a relationship that is as deep as it is with the US, there will be certain issues that will be on the table at all times.
PTI
