US Secretary of State John Kerry and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will be visiting New Delhi next week for what would be the Obama presidency’s last round of India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue.
What started as US-India Strategic Dialogue in 2010 was expanded last year to Strategic and Commercial Dialogue (S&CD) to reflect the “shared priorities of generating economic growth, creating jobs, improving the investment climate and strengthening the middle class in both countries”.
The elevation to reflect the growing significance of the US-India economic relationship came about in January 2015 in the course of consultations that President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in New Delhi.
Announcing the visit of Kerry and Pritzker, State Department spokesperson Elizabeth Trudeau said they will be co-chairing the second US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue on August 30.
They will be joined by the respective Indian co-hosts, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, along with members of the US delegation and their Indian counterparts.
Trudeau described the S&CD as “the signature mechanism for advancing the United States and India’s shared priorities of generating sustainable economic growth, creating jobs, improving the business and investment climate, enhancing livelihoods, and sustaining the rule-based global order”.
“Secretary Kerry will meet with government officials to discuss our growing cooperation on global issues. He will also focus on strengthening our long-standing bilateral partnership on democracy, development, security and human rights,” Trudeau said.
Secretary Pritzker will additionally co-chair the second US-India CEO Forum, along with Jeff Zients, Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. Pritzker will also be meeting Indian entrepreneurs and participating in an event to celebrate bilateral cooperation on travel and tourism.