AMN /WASHINGTON

Rex TillersonUS Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to India next week as part of his five-nation tour that also includes Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Switzerland.

Giving details of the visit, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said that Mr Tillerson will make Saudi Arabia his first stop on the week-long tour beginning tomorrow.

She said Mr Tillerson will make his inaugural visit to South Asia as the Secretary of State reaffirming the Trump Administration’s comprehensive strategy toward the region.

Ms Nauert said that, Mr Tillerson will meet with senior Indian leaders in New Delhi to discuss further strengthening of bilateral strategic partnership and collaboration on security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

She also said that the Secretary’s visit to India will advance the ambitious agenda laid out by President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Prime Minister’s visit to the White House in June.

 

India “looking forward” to welcome US Secy of State Tillerson

 

AMN / New Delhi

 

MEAIndia today said it is “looking forward” to welcome the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during his visit next week and also welcomed his statement that New Delhi-Washington cooperation in counter-terrorism has strengthened in recent years.

 

“We look forward to welcoming him in India next week for detailed discussions on further strengthening of our partnership,” MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar said in response to a question here on Friday.

 

“We appreciate his (Tillerson’s) positive evaluation of the relationship and share his optimism about its future directions,” he said referring to Mr Tillerson’s statement at at a deliberation at the American think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on October 18.

 

‘Secretary Tillerson has made a significant policy statement on India-US relations and its future.

 

He brought out its various strengths and highlighted our shared commitment to a rule-based international order,” the MEA spokesman said.