India, US put Khobragade issue behind, focus on ties

Delhi: Following the quick outreach by the US administration and an equally quick response from the new government, the two sides have become active to bring rigour to the ties before Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to Washington in September.

Following the quick outreach by the US administration and an equally quick response from the new government, the two sides have become active to bring rigour to the ties before Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to Washington in September.

The series of engagements will begin with the India-Japan-US trilateral talks on June 23-24, days after Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s trip to India. The just-concluded visit of US assistant secretary Nisha Biswal discussed the road map for the ties.

While the strategic dialogue at the foreign minister-level is set to take place in Washington in August, there is now a possibility of US secretary of state John Kerry visiting India for familiarising with the new government.

Biswal held talks with her counterpart Vikram Doraiswamy, joint secretary (Americas) and joint secretary (Russia and Central Asia), Ajay Bisraia.

Dialogue on areas ranging from investment, trade and defence are being lined up. The US is also waiting for Modi’s first budget to get a sense of the new administration’s take on economic policies. The US has been arguing that the defence component in the ties between the two countries does not match up to the strategic relationship between the global partners.

A week before the BRICS summit on July 15 in Brazil, Modi is tentatively scheduled to travel for two days to Japan on July 3-4 and hold a summit-level meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.