US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday met visiting Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and discussed ways on how to carry forward the bilateral relations between the two strategic allies.
The chief US diplomat reiterated that he was looking forward to travelling to India in June for the Strategic Dialogue, but he also stressed that he would like to meet his Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid earlier. And he repeated his invite to Khurshid to visit Washington.
The top Indian envoy, who is on a three-day visit to the US for Foreign Office consultations, was accompanied by Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao during his visit to the State Department.
Kerry also extended his condolences to the families of the victims of the Hyderabad blasts, besides condemning the incident.
According to sources, Kerry enquired about further information regarding the twin blasts and offered Washington’s full assistance in the ongoing investigation. Following the meeting, Kerry tweeted, “Saw friend/Foreign Secretary Mathai -- discussed importance of relationship with India, expressed sympathies to brave people of Hyderabad - JK”.
Mathai also called on Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman and had a working lunch with Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment Robert D Hormats. Besides, he held extensive talks with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman.
It was also decided that they would further increase the frequency of the bilateral consultations, including at the official and political level.
Incidentally, India and the US have over 100 bilateral visits and high-level exchanges every year.
They also have around 30 dialogue mechanisms covering almost all aspects of cooperation.