EAM Jaishankar, US Dy Secy discuss strategic partnership between Washington & New Delhi

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Wednesday, 6 October, met with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi in a bid to further expand the US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. In a statement, the US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that during their meeting, the two diplomats discussed regional developments including in Afghanistan, Myanmar and China. He added that Jaishankar and Sherman also discussed implementing outcomes from the recent bilateral meeting between PM Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden, and the QUAD Leaders Summit. 

Price said, “They discussed regional developments, including in Afghanistan, Myanmar, and the People's Republic of China, and discussed implementing outcomes from the recent bilateral meeting between President Biden and Prime Minister Modi and the recent Quad Leaders Summit. Deputy Secretary Sherman underscored the importance of continued close cooperation between the United States and India on global issues.” 

Separately, in a Twitter post, Jaishankar said that he had a “good conversation” with Sherman on the India-US relationship. Sherman, on the other hand, tweeted saying that she had an “excellent meeting” with “good friend” Jaishankar. She added that the strategic partnership between India and the US is essential for the strength of both nations   

Shringla meets US Deputy Secy of State 

The US State Department’s spokesperson also went on to inform that during her visit to New Delhi, Sherman also met Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla to review the India-US bilateral agenda and outcomes of Prime Modi's recent visit to the United States. He said that during her meeting, Sherman expressed the US’ gratitude for PM Modi’s announcement that India, which is the world’s largest vaccine producer, would soon resume exports of COVID-19 vaccines from October. Price added that Sherman and Shringla also reviewed pressing regional and global security issues, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia and China. 

During the virtual interaction with Sherman at India IDEAS Summit, Shringla, on the other hand, highlighted PM Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the United States and said that PM Modi and US President Joe Biden discussed several global issues during the visit. He informed that PM Modi and Biden reviewed the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and several contemporary and world issues. He added that the meeting between the two leaders took place in the context of the Afghanistan crisis, COVID-19 pandemic and upcoming G20 and COP26 Summit. 

(With inputs from ANI)