John Kerry to travel to Dhaka and New Delhi

Washington: The US Secretary of State John Kerry would travel to New Delhi to attend the second India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, the State Department announced Wednesday.

"On August 29-31, Secretary Kerry will travel to New Delhi, India, for meetings with senior Indian officials," the State Department spokesperson Elizabeth Trudeau said.

On August 30, Kerry and US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker will co-chair the second US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue (S&CD), she said.

Kerry and Pritzker will be joined by their respective Indian co-chairs, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, along with members of the US delegation and their Indian counterparts.

"The S&CD is the signature mechanism for advancing the United States' and India's shared priorities of generating sustainable economic growth, creating jobs, improving the business and investment climate, enhancing livelihoods, and sustaining the rules-based global order," Trudeau said.

Kerry, however would begin his visit to South Asia by travelling to Bangladesh, she said.

This will highlight the longstanding and broad US- Bangladesh relationship, she added.

"Secretary Kerry will meet with government officials to discuss our growing cooperation on global issues. He will also focus on strengthening our long-standing bilateral partnership on democracy, development, security and human rights," Trudeau said.

In January 2015, the US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had elevated the existing US-India Strategic Dialogue to the Strategic and Commercial Dialogue to reflect the growing significance of the US-India economic relationship.

This is the first time the S&CD will be held in India.

In New Delhi, Pritzker will also co-chair the second US- India CEO Forum alongside Jeff Zients, the Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.

The US-India CEO Forum brings together CEOs and government representatives from both countries to discuss opportunities for increasing bilateral trade and investment.

During this event, the CEOs will communicate their joint recommendations to the US and Indian governments, the Department of Commerce said.

While in New Delhi, Pritzker will also meet with Indian entrepreneurs and participate in an event celebrating US-India cooperation on travel and tourism.

In June 2016, President Obama and Prime Minister Modi had announced that the US and India will be Travel and Tourism Partner Countries in 2017.