US-India ties: Kerry to visit India with focus on trade

US Secretary of State to make second trip to country in six months


Afp January 11, 2015
The key focus of Kerry’s visit to Ahmadabad will be his address to the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit. PHOTO: REUTERS

WASHINGTON:


US Secretary of State John Kerry is visiting India on his first foreign trip of 2015, with a focus on trade and investment with the South Asian economic giant.


It will be Kerry’s second trip to India in six months, as the two allies have worked to repair ties which frayed badly early last year in a spat over the deportation of an Indian diplomat.

He will also be paving the way for a visit to the South Asian nation by President Barack Obama later this month, who will be the country’s special guest for the Republic Day celebrations.

En route for India, Kerry will stopover for a few hours in Munich, southern Germany, for a rare private meeting with Oman’s ailing Sultan Qaboos.

‘Munich talks would be more of ‘a personal visit’ than one focusing on policy,’ stated the State Department spokeswomen, while acknowledging that Oman played a key role in hosting secret talks in 2012 between Iran and the US, hence bringing the Islamic Republic back to the nuclear negotiations.

The key focus of Kerry’s visit to Ahmadabad will be his address to the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit; a biennial summit launched in 2003 to attract foreign investment to the area bordering Pakistan.

Two-way trade between the US and India currently stands at $100 billion and the countries aim to boost the figure to $500 billion but have set no deadline.



Though US officials did not highlight any major deals outlined for the Gujarat visit, the summit will give Kerry the chance to showcase “the vast opportunity for the American private sector” as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to transform India’s economy.

“I think the United States is going to be a key player and a key partner in that transformation and rejuvenation of the Indian economy, and that this is a win-win for both countries and for both peoples,” said the State Department official.

Kerry will also visit a Ford automotive manufacturing plant to be inaugurated in Gujarat and meet chief executives of some of the Fortune 500 Indian companies to discuss ‘constraints and inhibitions on advancing the economic partnership.’

On the sidelines of the Summit, Kerry will hold a meeting with the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. He will meet Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay in bid to strengthen ties with the country, which has remained one of the most isolated in the world. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11th, 2015.

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COMMENTS (3)

Mytake | 9 years ago | Reply

What else can Pakistan bring to table other than addressing terrorism. In this day and age it's all about trade, economy and strategy.

Siraj Ahmed | 9 years ago | Reply

Kerry to make its first visit of the year to India with focus on trade. He is not coming to Pakistan from there. He is going to Geneva for Iran talks. So when is he coming to Pakistan?

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