Strength of India-US relations reaffirmed at Consular Dialogue

Washington [US], April 29 : Tenth US-India Consular Dialogue held in Washington, D.C. on Thursday reaffirmed the strength of US-India bilateral relations and highlighted efforts made by both countries to strengthen people-to-people ties.

The U.S. delegation was led by US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Rena Bitter while the Indian delegation was led by Joint Secretary, Consular Passport and Visa (CPV) Division in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Devesh Uttam.

The discussions focused on areas of interest, including cooperation to protect vulnerable women and children, inter-country adoption, provision of consular services to expatriate citizens, extraditions, and facilitation of travel in support of our extensive cultural, economic, and educational ties.

Both sides agreed to hold the next round of the dialogue in India next year.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, India's Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in a virtual meeting on Monday discussed the US, India have shared interest in maximizing progress on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), according to a release by the US Department of Commerce.

This comes as negotiators continue working towards achieving ambitious and high-standard outcomes ahead of the May round of negotiations which will take place in Singapore.

Secretary Raimondo thanked Minister Goyal and the Indian government for its ongoing contributions and strong support for IPEF, according to the release.