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Modi, Kerry review Indio-US strategic partnership

NEW DELHI, Aug 31 (KUNA) -- US Secretary of State John Kerry held Wednesday extensive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on security and political developments in the region and beyond.
In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office said that Modi and Kerry - accompanied by US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker - discussed the progress "in bilateral engagement since Prime Minister's visit to US in June 2016," and rapid progress and successful completion of the decisions taken with President Obama at the recent Summit Meeting in June helping to open up new avenues of cooperation.
According to local media reports, Kerry also talked about the increasing threat of terrorism in the region and urged Pakistan to do more to dismantle terror networks on its territories in order to avoid problems to India and help bring peace and stability for Afghanistan.
India and the US also renewed today their call to China in the backdrop of the recent ruling by a global arbitration tribunal in support of Philippines in a dispute over the South China Sea.
In a joint statement issued after the 2nd India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, both sides "stressed the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation, freedom of overflight, and unimpeded lawful commerce throughout the region, including in the South China Sea.
"India and the US urged the utmost respect for international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos)," the statement added.
Furthermore, "they reiterated that states should resolve disputes through peaceful means, and exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that could complicate or escalate disputes affecting peace and stability," the joint statement further said.
Answering a question about Pakistan's role in destabilizing Kashmir, Kerry said: "We are working on it. I have been working on this issue very hard. I have had many engagements with Nawaz Sharif. We have been talking on the sanctuaries in the western part of the country, how to deal more effectively with the Haqqani network and the LeT". (end) atk.hb