External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday met US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and held discussions on expanding bilateral cooperation as also on the Indo-Pacific and the Ukraine situation. “Pleased to meet @UnderSecStateP. Good discussion on expanding our bilateral cooperation, on South Asia, Indo-Pacific and the Ukraine situation,” Jaishankar said in a tweet. Nuland is visiting Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka with an interagency delegation to underscore US commitment to, and cooperation with, Indo-Pacific partners.
Nuland and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had on Monday co-chaired India-US Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) and reaffirmed their commitment to a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific. The two sides reviewed progress in various domains under the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership following up on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s discussions with President Joe Biden in Washington in September 2021. Both sides welcomed regular high-level dialogue and engagement, including productive meetings of bilateral mechanisms which led to intensifying of cooperation across all pillars of bilateral agenda.
Ministry of External Affairs had said in a release that FOC provided a valuable opportunity to discuss contemporary regional issues pertaining to South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region, West Asia, and the situation in Ukraine, among others.