New Delhi: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday morning. He is holding talks with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. Terrorism, H-1B visas, trade, India’s arms deal with Russia and the situation arising out of the US sanctions on buying oil from Iran, will be among the key issues that the two leaders will discuss.
Pompeo’s visit is the first high-level visit from any country after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stunning victory in the national election. “Working together to further deepen our strategic partnership…,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted along with pictures of the meeting with PM Modi. The visit comes ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and PM Modi on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Japan’s Osaka this week.
Hours after Pompeo landed in New Delhi on Tuesday night, the US said it wants PM Modi to lower trade barriers and embrace fair and reciprocal trade. “There is enormous potential to grow our trade relationship and create the high-quality jobs that Prime Minister Modi wants if India lowers trade barriers and embraces fair and reciprocal trade,” a US State Department factsheet said.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, who is hosting a working lunch for Pompeo, said India will try to find common ground on trade issues during their discussions. “We will be meeting with a positive attitude…The meeting with Mike Pompeo will be an important one. We will definitely discuss issues related to trade between the two countries,” Jaishankar said. He said that since both the countries have their own interests, “it is natural to have some conflicts because of that”. “We will find a common ground using diplomacy,” he added.
Diplomatic sources in India say all issues are on the table, and there is no structured agenda for the discussions between Jaishankar and Pompeo.
On US opposition to India’s $5 billion deal for acquiring S-400 missile system from Russia, sources said despite the threat of US sanctions, New Delhi will point out that the US has a law that offers a way out. India’s stance will be made clear to Pompeo during his visit.
The US wants India to cancel the purchase of the missiles, citing a law that imposes sanctions on any country that has “significant transactions” with Iran, North Korea or Russia.
A key issue expected to come up in the discussion is the US tension with Iran. While Indian oil companies have stopped imports to avoid sanctions, diplomatic sources say an official decision has to be taken and that India will discuss the alternative sources of oil in Wednesday’s talks.
Another topic that is likely to figure high in the talks is the H-1B issue with an American official saying Mike Pompeo will assure India that the Trump administration has no plans to impose a cap on issuing the highly sought-after H-1B visas that are forcing foreign companies to store data locally.
Mike Pompeo will also interact with Indian and US businesses at a round table meet and deliver a policy speech at the India International Centre in Delhi this evening.
After his India visit, Pompeo will fly to Japan to attend the G-20 summit with Donald Trump. PM Modi would also be attending the summit of leaders from top 20 economies of the world. The two leaders are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the summit.
Mike Pompeo’s visit marks the third visit to India by a Secretary of State during the Trump administration.
