US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday and discussed various strategic aspects of the bilateral ties between India and USA, news agency PTI reports from New Delhi.
Pompeo, who arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday night, is scheduled to hold detailed discussions with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in the afternoon and have a working lunch with him.
“Working together to further deepen our strategic partnership, Secretary Pompeo called on PM Narendra Modi to exchange views on various aspects of Indo-US relationship. PM will meet President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the upcoming G20 Osaka Summit,” a foreign ministry spokesperson said.
Wednesday’s meeting came at a time of some sore issues between New Delhi and Washington:
# Just days before Pompeo’s visit, India slapped higher retaliatory tariffs on 28 US products following Washington’s withdrawal of key trade privileges for New Delhi.
# India’s relations with Russia (defence) and Iran (oil)—both under US sanctions—are also a sore point.
