US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to meet PM Modi, EAM Jaishankar on maiden India visit

New Delhi: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday evening for his maiden India trip and will hold extensive talks with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar. The talks are due to begin at 12 pm. He is slated to meet National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and later he will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 4.30 pm. 

According to the US State Department, Blinken’s trip to New Delhi is meant to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to strengthening bilateral ties with India. “Secretary Blinken will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to discuss a wide range of issues, including continued cooperation on COVID-19 response efforts, Indo-Pacific engagement, shared regional security interests, shared democratic values, and addressing the climate crisis,” a press statement by the US State Department read.

The talks will be held on numerous issues, be it Afghanistan, Indo-Pacific, Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, bilateral, regional, addressing COVID-19 or global developments, ANI reported.

The US Secretary of State will be in the national capital for a little over 20 hours. He is scheduled to fly to Kuwait as part of his two-nation tour at 5.30 pm on Wednesday.

Blinken is the third high-ranking official of the US President Joe Biden administration to visit Delhi. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had visited in March and Special Envoy on Climate Change John Kerry in April. 

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