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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held a meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, discussing strategic trade as well as resilient and reliable supply chains.
The talks between the two leaders also covered trust and transparency in the digital domain. Jaishankar tweeted, "Great pleasure to meet US Secretary of Commerce @SecRaimondo this evening. (The) conversation covered strategic trade, resilient and reliable supply chains and trust and transparency in the digital domain." Earlier in the day, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also held a meeting with Raimondo. The two leaders discussed strengthening cooperation between India and US in education and skill development. The office of Dharmendra Pradhan shared details of his meeting with Gina Raimondo on Twitter. "Minister @dpradhanbjp and United States Secretary of Commerce, @SecRaimondo meet in New Delhi to boost educational and skill development linkages between India and the U.S," the Office of Dharmendra Pradhan tweeted, Raimondo, who is on a four-day visit to India, will participate in the India-USA Commercial Dialogue and the CEO Forum on March 10 to discuss cooperation in various sectors that could unlock new trade and investment opportunities between the two nations, according to a press release by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The release stated further, "Commercial Dialogue is a cooperative undertaking encompassing regular government-to-government meetings to be held in conjunction with private sector meetings, with an aim to facilitate trade, and maximize investment opportunities across a broad range of economic sectors." Further, according to the release, the last India-USA Commercial Dialogue was held in February 2019. Since then, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors, it could not be held. It is proposed to re-launch the commercial dialogue with a strategic outlook focusing on supply chain resiliency and diversification and new emerging areas, after a gap of three years. India-US CEO Forum was soft-launched by the Indian Commerce and Industry Minister and US Secretary of Commerce on November 9, 2022, via video conference. The key priorities identified for India-US CEO Forum were increasing supply chain resilience, enhancing energy security and reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions, advancing inclusive digital trade and facilitating post-pandemic economic recovery, especially for small businesses, stated the release issued by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry. On March 8, Raimondo visited Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's residence to participate in a Holi celebration. Speaking to ANI, Raimondo expressed his happiness at joining the Holi celebration, saying, "It's an honour for me to be here on such a holiday. I felt so welcomed by the Minister, it's fantastic. Happy Holi!" EAM Jaishankar, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur and BJP MP Manoj Tiwari were also present at Rajnath Singh's residence for the celebration of the festival of colours. The US Secretary of Commerce was also seen dancing and beating the drum. Jaishankar, in a tweet, wrote, "Celebrating Holi with US Commerce Secretary @SecRaimondoat Defence Minister @rajnathsingh ji's house." (ANI)
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