US secretary of state Blinken in Delhi on July 27

US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will be in Delhi on July 27 and 28 with the key focus on Afghanistan, Quad and the Indo-Pacific.

It is his first visit to India after taking charge and he is the second Biden administration official to visit Delhi this year. Earlier this year, United States Secretary of Defense, General (Retd.) Lloyd J. Austin had visited India.

According to the ministry of external affairs and US State department releases, he will be calling on PM Modi and hold talks with National Security Advisor(NSA) Ajit Doval and external affairs minister Dr. S Jaishankar. 

MEA in its release said Blinken's visit is an "opportunity to continue the high-level bilateral dialogue and bolster the India-US global strategic partnership" with both sides reviewing the "robust and multifaceted India-US bilateral relations, and potential for consolidating them further."

It will be the fourth meeting between Jaishankar and Blinken. Both had met three times previously - first on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers meet in London, then during EAM's bilateral visit to the US, and finally, on the sidelines of the G20 FMs meet in Italy.

US State Department said, during his Delhi visit he will discuss "a wide range of issues including continued cooperation on COVID-19 response efforts, Indo-Pacific engagement, shared regional security interests, shared democratic values and addressing climate crisis."

His visit is important also because PM Modi could travel to Washington later this year for the first Quad in-person meeting.  

Quad members India, US, Australia, and Japan held the first virtual meet earlier this year with the key outcome on the COVID-19 vaccine initiative. 

From Delhi, Blinken will also go to Kuwait. WION was the first channel to break the story about Blinken's visit to India earlier this week.