Ahead Of New Delhi Visit, Kerry To Deliver Major Policy Speech On India

WASHINGTON: Laying out a roadmap of long-term strategic partnership between the largest and oldest democratic countries, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will deliver a major foreign policy speech here on India.

Kerry, will underscore the shared prosperity, democratic values, and security that a strong US-India partnership brings to Asia and to the global order, the State Department said.

Kerry's speech comes on the eve of his departure to India to attend the India-US Strategic Dialogue, which he would co-chair with the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

The first Strategic Dialogue between the two countries under the Narendra Modi government is considered to be crucial to set the pace and scope of India-U.S. relationship for the next five years.

Center for American Progress (CAP), a top think tank has launched "India 2020" programme, which is focused on elevating key foreign policy debates in South Asia and developing innovative ideas for further enhancing the global strategic partnership of the world's oldest and largest democracies.

Kerry in his speech will also emphasise how the US and India can work in close partnership to improve growth, investment, and opportunity across the Indo-Pacific region by spearheading regional economic connectivity, the State Department said.

In a statement, CAP said India is proving to be an emerging powerhouse regionally and globally after decades of impressive economic growth and military modernisation.

With a new government in New Delhi, it is clearly time to chart a new and ambitious course for the U.S.-India partnership, it said.

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