Amidst concerns over a strain in the India-U.S. relationship over comments ahead of the general elections, two high-level visits are being planned between Delhi and Washington, sources confirmed to The Hindu. Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra is “likely” to visit the U.S. mid-April for consultations with the U.S. State Department, and both sides are also trying to schedule a visit by U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to Delhi, the sources said.
Mr. Sullivan was due to visit Delhi in February for an annual meeting of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) launched last year during National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s visit to Washington. He was also due to address the Raisina Dialogue during the visit, but both engagements were cancelled as he was asked to focus on West Asia amidst growing tensions over the Israeli bombardment of Gaza at the time.
Sources said that the U.S. and India have been working on a “mutually agreeable date” for iCET discussions and that they “hope to have that finalised soon”. While here, Mr. Sullivan is also expected to discuss a number of other issues in the India-U.S. strategic partnership, including cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and on the Red Sea attacks, Quad cooperation, and defence deals, including the recently cleared US $3.99 billion deal for predator drones as well as plans for the fighter jet-engine technology deal between GE and HAL. In addition, the Narendra Modi government has been keen to attract strategic investments from high-tech U.S. companies, announcing a significant policy change on March 15 for lower tariffs on imports for Electronic Vehicles (EV) manufacturers, particularly aimed at U.S.-based businessman Elon Musk’s Tesla.
