American diplomat Nisha Desai Biswal to visit India to set dialogue agenda

WASHINGTON: Ahead of the inaugural India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, a top American diplomat will arrive in New Delhi tomorrow to hold consultations with Indian officials for giving shape to the agenda of the talks.

Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal will travel to New Delhi from July 16 to 17, the State Department said in a statement.

"She will meet with senior Indian government officials to discuss shared priorities and increased US-India cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as upcoming engagements," the statement said.

Earlier this week, Biswal had announced that the first India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue would be held in Washington in September.

From the US side, the dialogue, the announcement for which was made in New Delhi in January during the India visit of US President Barack Obama, would be co-chaired by Secretary of State John Kerry and the Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.

The Indian delegation to the first of its kind dialogue, the dates for which have not been announced yet, would be led by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

"Our first Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, which Secretary Kerry and Secretary Pritzker will co-host in Washington this September, will showcase these efforts (of the last 10 years) and give us a new platform to build on past results and work toward future progress," Biswal had said of the dialogue earlier this week.

Late last year, Biswal had visited India to lay the groundwork for President Obama's visit to India to be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day this year.