U.S.-Indian Foreign Office Consultations in Washington, D.C.

Officials from the U.S. Department of State and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs met today at the State Department. These bilateral talks are a regular part of the institutional dialogue with India established in March, 2000, and now being vigorously pursued by the Bush Administration. The dialogue includes summits, ministerial meetings, and regular meetings like this one at the senior official level. In April this year, Indian Defense and External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh came to Washington and met with President Bush, Secretary Powell, Secretary Rumsfeld and National Security Advisor Rice. Last week, Deputy Secretary Armitage, during a visit to New Delhi to brief Indian leaders on our strategic thinking, delivered to Prime Minister Vajpayee President Bush’s acceptance of an invitation to visit India.

The Indian delegation was led by Indian Foreign Secretary Chokila Iyer, the most senior career official in the Ministry. The U.S. side was led by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman. The two delegations discussed a wide range of regional and bilateral issues, including regional security, next steps to implement the institutional dialogue, and a preview of the June 2001 working group meetings on counter-terrorism and peace-keeping.

Previous U.S.-India Foreign Office Consultations were held in New Delhi in May 2000, and in Washington, D.C., in August 2000.