New Delhi will host the second tri-lateral dialogue with United States and Afghanistan next week, which among other things will focus on co-operation between the three countries post-2014 when the US forces are scheduled to hand over control for security operations to Afghan forces.
Responding to the questions from Congressmen, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake said India is making progress in this regard not because of any pressure from the US, but because of "financial and commercial considerations".
Ruling out the possibility of establishing a military base or having permanent boots on the ground in Maldives, a top Barack Obama administration official has said that the United States has consulted India on the Status of Forces Agreement, which it is currently negotiating with the island nation.
The sizeable Indian investment flowing into the US is supporting thousands of jobs in this country, a senior US official has said, acknowledging the contribution of Indian money in creating employment during a tough economic environment.
India depends on Iran for 12 per cent of its 80 per cent of imports of crude.
The Obama Administration is encouraged by recent steps taken by the governments of India and Pakistan to initiate closer trade and commercial ties.
United States Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake will travel to Maldives for a first-hand assessment of the current political crisis in the island nation. "Assistant Secretary Blake has decided that he will add a stop in Male, capital of the Maldives, to his upcoming trip to the region. He will be there on Saturday, February 11, en route also to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as planned," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said.
Outsourcing could be one of the campaign issues.
Demanding a free and fair election in Maldives, the country's ousted President Mohamed Nasheed has said he does not want to topple the government of the day.
Despite a strategic engagement that has brought the two countries into closer convergence, the US does not always expect India to toe its line and recognises New Delhi's strategic autonomy, a top official has said.
"Opening transit trade to India would be transformative, because India is going to be such an important economic anchor for the region in the 21st century," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said.
Acknowledging that there are differences between India and the US on issues like Libya and Syria, a top Obama administration official has said the two countries need to "redouble" their efforts to work together to reduce any misunderstanding between them.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had a long conversation over the current situation in Sri Lanka, a State Department official has said.
Stating that the United States has a strong interest in helping India in preventing terror attacks, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said the country wants to see improved relations between India and Pakistan.
Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr are among the heroes of United States President Barack Obama, a senior Obama administration official has said. "Barack Obama, first African-American president and a student of those principles, identifies Gandhi's autobiography and Taylor Branch's terrific three-part biography of King, as works that helped shape him," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said.
The theme for this years conference is 'India: Gaining Momentum'.
"I don't think you heard anybody say that in the course of the President's three-day visit (to India), we're looking to counterbalance China in any way," Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake, told journalists in New York and Washington during a digital video press conference.
Ahead of the crucial Indo-United States strategic dialogue, the Obama administration has said that counter-terrorism cooperation with India is a "very high priority" for it as it would help prevent Mumbai-type attacks in future.
Robert Blake says the United States wants to partner India on a range of global issues.
The decision by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom to place India on its 'Watch List,' for what it said was "the government's largely inadequate response to protecting religious minorities," will not impact in any way on the growing US-India strategic partnership, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake has said.
Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake was asked pointedly by rediff.com to respond to a growing perception that Pakistan was hedging on punishing the terrorists behind the Mumbai terror attack and the US was backing off from applying too much pressure on Islamabad because of its strategic interests. Blake said, "First of all, let me say these are really a very complicated set of issues that are for India and Pakistan to resolve."
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus enjoys great respect in the US for all of his work to help the poor in Bangladesh.
Given the current geo-political situation in South Asia, a top Barack Obama administration official on Thursday confirmed that Pakistan will figure in talks when United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets Indian leaders, during her upcoming visit to India. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake appreciated the recent meetings between the leaders of India and Pakistan and identified it as a positive development.
The United States on Saturday said it will allow Indian investigators to interrogate David Headley, who has pleaded guilty to his involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks, but made it clear that he cannot be extradited to India.
It is very much in the interest of India and United States to continue to engage with Pakistan, even if Islamabad has not taken enough steps to meet the demands of New Delhi about punishing those responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks, a Obama administration official has said. "It is very much in our interest and it is very much in the interest of India to continue to engage Pakistan," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said.
Barack Obama's trip to India next month would be his longest stay overseas in a country as US President, which reflects the importance he attaches to building strategic relationship between the two largest democratic countries of the world.
Noting that the country was on track to have the largest economy by 2050, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said, "India is a rising giant whose influence is being felt not only in the Indian Ocean, but in the Americas, in Africa, West Asia, and in Central Asia."
Bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice is an important task to finish for Pakistan, which also needs to look into the issue of Hafiz Saeed, accused by India of masterminding the terror strike, besides preventing cross-border infiltration, the United States has said.
As the Indian Institute of Technology- Kanpur (IIT-K) is celebrating its 50th anniversary, a top US official said the success story of this leading Indian institute reflects the Indo-US cooperation in the field of education.
United States has begun preparations to accord a "robust" welcome to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November, the first state visit of the Obama administration, to make it a special visit for the Indian leader and a "milestone" event in the Indo-US relationship.
United States feels that Kashmir issue won't be part of the agenda during talks between foreign ministers of India and Pakistan next month as the meeting will focus mainly on action against terrorism and the progress Islamabad has made into the Mumbai attacks probe.
The US has said that this is not the appropriate moment for India and Pakistan to hold discussions on the Kashmir issue, as they need to go for confidence building measures first.
"It is important that they feel that they're going to be able to live a future of hope and of opportunity, that the internally displaced people that are now in camps -- there are still approximately 100,000 of them -- that they be allowed to go back to their homes," US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake said.
The Assistant Secretary of State said trade and agriculture is a major pillar of Indo-US relationship.
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