Sushma Swaraj and Rex Tillerson talk to further Indo-US ties

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Indo-US ties is picking up steam. India’s foreign minister Sushma Swaraj spoke to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday. The talk comes on the heels of an announcement of a group of 27 House of Representative members to tour different cities later this month.

The conversation between Swaraj and Tillerson was the third high-level conversation between the Indian government and the Trump administration since Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the US on January 20.

Before this call, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Trump, and US Defence Secretary James Mattis spoke to Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar, reported Live Mint.

An Indian foreign ministry statement said that Swaraj and Tillerson “resolved to work together closely to further expand and deepen the multi-faceted strategic partnership between India and the US.”

“They emphasized that close and strong relations between India and the US were not only in mutual interest but also had regional and global significance. In this context, they agreed to intensify cooperation in various sectors, including defence and security, energy, and economy,” the Indian readout of the conversation said. “They also agreed to follow-up the firm resolve expressed by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump to cooperate closely in the global fight against terrorism,” it added.

Ties between India and the US have warmed dramatically since the year 2000 with four presidential visits between then and 2015. It’s expected to be cemented further when two distinguished Congressional delegations visit India, beginning next week.

One delegation, traveling under the auspices of the Aspen Institute and comprising 19 senior Congressmen, shall be visiting Delhi and Hyderabad. The other delegation, led by Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Bob Goodlatte, and comprising eight distinguished Congressmen, has Delhi and Bangalore on its itinerary.