Indian envoy, US Senator discuss deeper engagement in energy, technology, innovation
Washington: India's Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra held a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of the Senate Democratic Conference and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator Brian Schatz and discussed deeper engagement between the two nations in energy, technology and innovation.
"Pleased to meet Senator Brian Schatz, Deputy Secretary of the Senate Democratic Conference and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Shared perspectives on ongoing bilateral defence cooperation, and deeper India-US engagement in energy, technology & innovation. Also exchanged perspectives on some of the key regional developments," Kwatra posted on X.
Kwatra also met US Representative Dina Titus and discussed facets of partnership, including technology, tourism and trade.
Following their meeting, Kwatra wrote, "Enjoyed my conversation today with Representative Dina Titus. We discussed many facets of our partnership - trade, technology & tourism. Grateful for her constant support to stronger relations between our countries."
On Wednesday, US Deputy Trade Representative (USTR) Rick Switzer, who arrived in India to engage in high-level discussions with top officials, met Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
In his meeting with Misri, the discussions covered the broad India-US economic and technology partnership and ongoing trade negotiations, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
"Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met US Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer. Discussions covered the strong India–US economic and technology partnership, ongoing trade negotiations, and opportunities to boost two-way trade and resilient supply chains," the MEA said in an X post.
The visit of the US delegation, led by newly-appointed Switzer and the chief negotiator for the India trade deal, Brendan Lynch, has renewed hopes for the conclusion of the India-US trade deal.
On December 9, India and the US held Foreign Office Consultations and discussed key bilateral issues, including trade and investment, defence cooperation, the TRUST initiative, energy cooperation, including civil nuclear collaboration, technology, critical minerals, and trusted supply chains, according to a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and US Under Secretary of State Allison Hooker co-chaired the meeting. The two sides discussed regional and global developments of mutual interest, with both sides underscoring their shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
In a statement, MEA stated, "Both sides also welcomed the steady progress across existing dialogue mechanisms and agreed to give momentum to the implementation of 'Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce and Technology (COMPACT) for the 21st Century' to drive transformative cooperation across key pillars of the partnership."
