Kerry travels to Delhi for Monday’s strategic dialogue.
By Dileep Thekkethil
“A whole spectrum of the strategic global partnership” between India and the United States will be discussed at the fourth India-U.S. strategic dialogue, which will be held in New Delhi on June 24th, Indian Ambassador to the United States Nirupama Rao said Monday.
Appearing on Doordarshan, along with U.S. Ambassador to India Nancy Powell, Rao described the bilateral relationship as a “fully developed” and “multidimensional partnership.”
The strategic dialogue will be co-chaired by Secretary of State John Kerry and Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid. It will be the first meeting between the two officials as the top diplomats of their countries.
In the interview, which was simulcast on Google Hangout, the two envoys gave a preview of some of the topics on the agenda.
Education is one such issue. “Our cooperation in education constitutes one of the pillars of the strategic dialogue,” the Indian envoy said.
Both Rao and Powell spoke about the increasing cooperation in the field, pointing out that more than 100,000 Indian students are studying at U.S. universities at the moment. “I definitely do see the number of Indian students go up,” Rao said.
“Our universities are very, very pleased to welcome Indian students and to provide financial assistance wherever they can,” Powell added.
Rao and Powell discussed the role of U.S. community colleges in enhancing skills development. “Skill development of millions of Indian students is very crucial for India, and this can be achieved through vocational training and community colleges,” she said.
The two ambassadors also talked about other issues that will discussed at the strategic dialogue, among them, Afghanistan, counter-terrorism, Iran, China, the civil nuclear agreement, energy and U.S. rebalance toward Asia.
Rao said India and the United States have a “shared stake” in Afghanistan and it is the responsibility of both the countries to put an end to the extreme violence.
Quoting Adm. Samuel Locklear, who will be a member of the U.S. delegation, Rao said, “everything from Hollywood to Bollywood will become part of dialogue.”