India, US plan series of meets after interim trade framework

New Delhi: India and the USA are planning a series of meetings in the coming weeks and months to give momentum to the partnership following the announcement of an interim trade framework and reduction of tariffs to 18%, boosting mutual confidence.

While foreign secretary Vikram Misri could visit Washington for political and strategic dialogue, a few US ministers are expected to travel to New Delhi for sector specific engagement, ET has learnt.

Michael Kratsios, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director, will lead the US delegation at the AI Impact Summit here this week. India is also exploring hosting Quad foreign ministers meeting in the year which can then enable them to plan the summit here. The ministerial meeting is still in the planning stages, and no final decision has been taken, ET has learnt.


The engagements with the US will get momentum after the visit of the Canadian PM and the Raisina Dialogue, India's premier foreign policy platform, in first week of March. The India-US partnership has received a boost since the arrival of new ambassador Sergio Gor, who has direct access to the US President. Several US lawmakers and US Army Secretary visited New Delhi since Gor's arrival. The trade framework reaffirms a commitment to negotiations toward a broader bilateral trade agreement, the two governments had said in a joint statement.