Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, currently on a four-day US visit for what is the first official engagement with the Donald Trump administration, held meetings with Speaker Paul Ryan and National Security Advisor lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster on Wednesday.
The visit has assumed added importance, coming as it does against the backdrop of the killing of Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla in a “racially-motivated” hate crime and the uncertainties faced by Indian IT firms and software personnel over the Trump administration’s speculated moves in respect of H-1B and l-1 visas.
Speaker Ryan offered his condolences on behalf of the House of Representatives over the “senseless” murder of Kuchibhotla, noting in a statement later: “Our peoples must continue to stand together, and I look forward to working with Foreign Secretary Jaishankar in the years ahead.”
“The relationship between the US and India is rooted in shared values of democracy and freedom,” Ryan said, noting: “We had a great opportunity today to build on this critical partnership by discussing ways to enhance our economic and defense cooperation.”
The Foreign Secretary also met with the new US National Security Advisor Gen. McMaster.
The Trump administration has not yet come up with its plans for the highly-coveted H-1B work visas, roughly 70 per cent of which are used by Indian IT majors and software professionals. But speculations about imposing more stringent norms, coupled with independent efforts by some lawmakers on Capitol Hill, have been worrying the IT firms.
Jaishankar, due to hold deliberations with the State Department, is expected to take up the concerns of the Indian IT industry and professionals in the course of the bilateral discussions.