WASHINGTON
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to India and Kuwait next week for talks on China, the coronavirus and Afghanistan, the State Department said Friday.
The trip comes as the Biden administration seeks to shore up U.S. leadership in vaccinating the world against COVID-19, tries to blunt increasing Chinese assertiveness, and moves to evacuate vulnerable people from Afghanistan before the U.S. military withdrawal is complete.
The State Department said Blinken will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday before traveling to Kuwait City the next day.
India is a key part of U.S. efforts to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region and elsewhere. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the agenda in Delhi would include “COVID-19 response efforts, Indo-Pacific engagement, shared regional security interests, shared democratic values, and addressing the climate crisis.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks as he and Iraq s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein face reporters as they meet at the State Department in Washington on July 23. (Pool via AP)
WASHINGTON Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to India and Kuwait next week for talks on China, the coronavirus and Afghanistan, the State Department said Friday.
The trip comes as the Biden administration seeks to shore up U.S. leadership in vaccinating the world against COVID-19, tries to blunt increasing Chinese assertiveness, and moves to evacuate vulnerable people from Afghanistan before the U.S. military withdrawal is complete.
The State Department said Blinken will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday before traveling to Kuwait City the next day.
US Secretary to visit India amid Afghanistan withdrawal
July 24, 2021
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will pay his first visit to India after taking his office, the State Department said on Friday, as worries escalate about Afghanistan in a country increasingly aligned with Washington.
The State Department said US Secretary Blinken would meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Wednesday in New Delhi before a stop in Kuwait.
It would be the first time that a top US diplomat would travel to India after the late 1990s, in which the two countries have increasingly become close to each other to share interests on rising China, militancy and other challenges.
Blinken to visit India amid Afghanistan withdrawal
July 24, 2021
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will pay his first visit to India after taking his office, the State Department said on Friday, as worries escalate about Afghanistan in a country increasingly aligned with Washington.
The State Department said US Secretary Blinken would meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Wednesday in New Delhi before a stop in Kuwait.
It would be the first time that a top US diplomat would travel to India after the late 1990s, in which the two countries have increasingly become close to each other to share interests on rising China, militancy and other challenges.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Reuters/File
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to India next week, the State Department said on Friday, in the top US diplomat s first visit to the world s largest democracy and an important US ally in Asia.
Blinken will also visit Kuwait and meet senior officials there at the end of the July 26-29 trip.
The United States sees India as an important partner in efforts to stand up to China s increasingly assertive behavior. Blinken s trip will follow a visit by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to China and coincide with one to Southeast Asia by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.