US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will arrive in India on Wednesday evening as part of his first official visit to South Asia.
Tillerson’s three-day visit follows his talks with the Pakistani leadership. It’s his first trip to India after US President Donald Trump announced his new South Asia strategy in August, acknowledging that India had an important role in it. Trump said the US wanted to further develop its strategic partnership with the world’s largest democracy and sought more help in Afghanistan.
Tillerson, before embarking on this trip, had said the US would turn to India to ensure greater stability in Afghanistan and throughout the region. He also sought to contrast US-India relationship with its ties with China.
The US State Department website quoted him as saying:
China, while rising alongside India, has done so less responsibly, at times undermining the international rules-based order, even as countries like India operate within a framework that protects other nation’s sovereignty.
The other key aspect of the visit will be his comments on Pakistan. In August, Trump had criticised India’s neighbour for its failure to rein in the terror network. He, however, later praised the Pakistan leadership in his tweets.
Replying to a query during his Afghanistan visit on Monday, Tillerson said the US’ relationship with Pakistan was “conditions based”. “We have made some very specific requests of Pakistan in order for them to take action to undermine the support that the Taliban receives, and the other terrorist organisations receive in Pakistan,” he said.
Here’s Tillerson India itinerary, according to Ministry of External Affairs.
October 24: Tillerson arrives in New Delhi at 8.05 p.m.
October 25:
11:30 am: Meets Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj
12:45 pm: Press interaction
4.30 pm: Calls on Prime Minister Narendra Modi
October 26: Leaves for US
(The story was first published on BloombergQuint)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)