Ahead of John Kerry's visit, Wendy Sherman will travel to India

WASHINGTON: A top American diplomat would be travelling to India this week ahead of the next month's New Delhi trip of Secretary of State John Kerry for the India-US Strategic Dialogue, an official statement has said.


In New Delhi on May 24-25, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman will meet External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and other Indian officials to discuss a full range of bilateral and regional issues and preparations for the June Strategic Dialogue, the State Department said.

Sherman will travel to Hyderabad on May 25 to engage with private sector leaders on furthering US-India economic cooperation and innovation, the State Department said.

She would arrive in New Delhi from Indonesia where she would participate in the US-Indonesia Global Policy Dialogue, and will meet with senior Indonesian government officials to discuss bilateral, regional, and global issues.

The Global Policy Dialogue is a key component of the US-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership launched by Presidents Barack Obama and Yudhoyono in 2010, and is a long-term commitment to elevate bilateral relations by intensifying cooperation.

From India, Sherman will then travel to Dhaka from May 26-28, where she will lead the US delegation to the Second US-Bangladesh Partnership Dialogue and plans to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, and leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia.

The Partnership Dialogue is the premier forum for further expanding and deepening bilateral cooperation on a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, including development, civil society and governance; trade and investment; security and countering violent extremism; science and technology; women's empowerment and gender equality.

Sherman will also lead a roundtable with labor, industry, and government officials to discuss standards in the garment sector in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza tragedy.