Washington: US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will arrive in India next week to “compare notes on the Indo-Pacific, talk about technology cooperation and meet his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and others to take the India-US relationship to the next level. Sullivan is likely to meet Doval for the annual review meeting for the initiative on critical and emerging technologies (iCET) that was postponed in February.
US President Joe Biden’s top national security aide will be in New Delhi on April 17 and is scheduled to have meetings on April 18. Sullivan would be in India next week “to celebrate elements of our bilateral relationship, compare notes on the Indo-Pacific, and also talk about the next steps in technology cooperation. We think these are all effective, prudent elements of taking the US-India relationship to the next level,” a senior White House administration official.
Sullivan was to travel to India earlier in February but because of the global crisis in Ukraine and West Asia, the annual review meeting on iCET was rescheduled. The iCET was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Biden to facilitate outcome-oriented cooperation in new and emerging technologies.
“I think if you ask the President, one of the things that he’s proudest of is his efforts to build a stronger relationship between the United States and India… I do believe, both in the Indo-Pacific and the Indian Ocean and on key issues like technology, the United States and India are working more closely together than ever before,” said the official.
