US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be on three-day visit here from next Tuesday, during which he will meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
This will be the first high-level engagement with the USafter the Lok Sabha elections, said External Affairs Ministry SpokespersonRaveesh Kumar.
During his visit, Pompeo will also call on other Indianleaders, Kumar added.
“Secretary Pompeo’s visit will provide an opportunityand importance for both sides to explore ways to further strengthen India-USstrategic partnership and continue the high level engagement on matters ofmutual interest, including bilateral, regional, and global issues.
“We look this visit as an opportunity to discuss of theissues which will be on the table,” he said.
Key bilateral issues, like trade, are expected to bediscussed at the meeting between Pompeo and Jaishankar.
Bilateral trade between India and US has almost touched $150billion and there has been a growth every year in the last few years, Kumarsaid, adding there has been a seven-fold increase since 2001.
“There are 500 US companies operating in India. Thecontribution of Indian-Americans in the growth of US has been recognized by theUS leadership. US has supported India for the permanent member of the (UN)Security Council. Last year, we held a two-plus-two dialogue (between Foreignand Defence Ministers). There is lot of cooperation going on in the hightechnology trade. So, there is plenty of action going on between India and USbilateral relationship.”
With Pompeo’s visit, people in the policy circles arekeeping a close watch on the likely developments in trade front.