LOC12:10
09:10 GMT
NEW DELHI, July 28 (KUNA) -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held on Wednesday extensive talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in New Delhi as the former is expected to arrive in Kuwait later in the day.
The Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in his official Twitter account that Blinken, who arrived in New Delhi last night on an official visit, discussed several issues of mutual concerns.
He said that Jaishankar highlighted during his opening remarks with Blinken that India-US cooperation covers virtually all domains of contemporary relevance. He also underlined shared interests, similar concerns, and strong convergences during the talks, Bagchi said.
He added that the talks sought ways of deeper cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic and expressed that both sides are striving for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and working for democratic stability in Afghanistan.
"Our conversations on global issues would surely be richer from real exchanges of national experiences and historical perspectives," Jaishankar was quoted as saying by Asian News International.
"Peace and prosperity in Indo-Pacific are as important for both of us as democratic stability in Afghanistan. Deepening Quad as a collaborative platform is in our mutual interest and we must work together even more closely on key contemporary challenges like terrorism," he added.
The visiting US official is also set to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Dovel before leaving for Kuwait.
Blinken's visit, which comes after two high-level visits of US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin in March and US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry in April, is seen by Indian authorities as an "opportunity to continue the high-level bilateral dialogue and bolster the India-US global strategic partnership". (end)
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