EAM Jaishankar Begins his Washington Visit, Will Meet Mike Pompeo

India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar began his bilateral visit to Washington DC on Saturday where he is set to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The visit which comes in the backdrop of PM Modi’s week-long UNGA meet is expected to focus on continuing the momentum generated by the prime minister. During the visit, EAM will also work together on Indo-Pacific and resolve trade issues.

He already met Pompeo as part of the Quad Foreign Minister meet in New York on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly. Speaking on the meet, a senior state department official said, “They discussed how increased engagement in the region by Quad members individually and together contribute to improving maritime security, economic growth and development, and good governance.”

Trade remains one of the main focus with Indian trade minister Piyush Goyal meeting his American counterpart in New York last week.

India’s consul general to New York Sandeep Chakravorty responding to WION’s question on any India-US trade deal said, “People are working on it, the trajectory is very positive. We have bridged deficit with US through energy, defence. The announcement will come when it comes”

Meanwhile, PM Modi met Tulsi Gabbard, Representative of Hawaii and US Presidential candidate in New York just before leaving for New Delhi.

Speaking to DD News, Gabbard said, “It is really important that the world’s oldest democracy and the world’s largest democracy continue to remain focused on strengthening our partnership. We have many shared interest from economy to trade to security to counter-terrorism to climate change.”

On terror, she said,” I think, counter-terrorism and getting rid of the threat coming from terrorism like Al Qaeda and ISIS is certainly in the interest of US and India”

EAM Jaishankar will return to Delhi on October 4.

Source: WION

Image Courtesy: MSN