Top US diplomat to visit India next week

Washington: A top Obama administration diplomat is travelling to India next week to hold talks with Indian officials in New Delhi, and the private and corporate sector in Bangalore.

"The breadth and quality of our strategic partnership with India attests to the underlying strength and salience of our relations," said Indian-origin US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Biswal in advance of her visit to Bangalore and New Delhi from March 4 to 6.

During her visit Biswal will seek to further broaden and deepen the US-India relationship, which President Barack Obama has called "one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century".

On March 4, Biswal will meet with government and business leaders in Bangalore to discuss India-US joint efforts to foster innovation, increase high-tech and engineering engagement, and strengthen bilateral economic ties.

From Bangalore, Biswal will travel to New Delhi, where she will meet with senior Indian officials to discuss the full range of bilateral and regional issues, including shared defence, security, and economic engagement across the Indo-Pacific corridor, the State Department said.

On March 6, Biswal will deliver remarks on the US-India economic relationship at the American Centre in New Delhi.

"The United States is proud to partner with India on virtually every field of human endeavour, from innovative solutions to poverty and disease to space exploration, from counter terrorism and security cooperation to higher education and people-to-people ties," Biswal said.

"I look forward to discussing these and other issues that are vital to the well-being of our two peoples," she said in a statement.