Reported by Jayant Jacob for The New Indian Express
United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker will visit New Delhi and Bengaluru from December 7 to 11. This will be her first official visit to India since taking office earlier this year. The visit is expected to sharpen the strategic focus of the US-India partnership at a time when both sides are navigating economic friction, geopolitical volatility and rapid technological shifts.
According to the US Embassy, Hooker will prioritise advancing the US-India strategic partnership, deepening economic and commercial ties, expanding American exports, and accelerating collaboration in emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence and space exploration. Her visit comes amid renewed efforts in Washington and New Delhi to stabilize ties after weeks of heightened tensions over the Trump administration’s 50% tariff on Indian goods and India’s continued purchase of Russian energy.
Hooker has been closely involved in India engagement in recent months. In September, she met Indian ambassador to the US, Vinay Kwatra, as both sides worked to ease friction over trade and energy issues. Economic cooperation has nevertheless continued to expand between the two countries.
In November, Indian public-sector oil companies signed a one-year agreement with US energy majors to import 2.2 million tonnes of LPG, roughly 10% of India’s annual LPG imports. Then, India and the US finalized a $946 million sustainment package for the Indian Navy’s fleet of 24 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, strengthening defence industrial ties.
During her stay in New Delhi, Hooker will meet her counterpart Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, and other senior Indian officials to discuss regional security, economic cooperation and shared priorities in the Indo-Pacific. During the Foreign Office Consultations with Vikram Misri, both sides are expected to address issues still slowing the bilateral partnership, from trade barriers and supply-chain coordination to defence partnership.
In Bengaluru, she will visit the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and meet leaders from India’s space, energy and technology sectors. The discussions will focus on expanding joint research, commercial collaboration and interoperability in next-generation technologies—areas increasingly framing the future of the partnership.
Meanwhile, India and the US unequivocally condemned terrorism in all forms, including cross-border terrorism, following the 21st India-US Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism on December 6, and the 7th Designations Dialogue held on December 3. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening counter-terrorism cooperation across the UN, Quad and The Financial Action Task Force, frameworks.