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Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, met the United States Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Richard Verma, on Monday in Delhi and held discussions on the trade ties shared by the two nations.
Notably, Richard Verma is on a three-nation trip to India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka from February 18-23. Sharing pictures from the meeting, Goyal, in a post on social media platform X, wrote, "Delighted to meet Richard R. Verma, US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources." "Held fruitful discussions to further strengthen India-US trade and investment ties to explore new opportunities for greater collaboration and growth," he added. Verma's visit is aimed at strengthening cooperation between the US and each of these Indo-Pacific partners. In the press release, the US Department of State said, "Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard R Verma will travel to India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka on February 18-23 to strengthen the United States' cooperation with each of these key Indo-Pacific partners." "Shortly following the second anniversary of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, his trip will reaffirm the United States' enduring commitment to a free, open, secure, and prosperous region," it added. After concluding his visit to India, Richard Verma will travel to Maldives to meet with senior officials and advance shared priorities in increasing economic cooperation and promoting maritime security. He will also tour the planned office space for a new US Embassy in Male, according to the US Department of State press release. He is also scheduled to travel to Sri Lanka and hold meetings with senior officials who will support US-Sri Lankan defence and maritime security cooperation. He will visit the Port of Colombo's West Container Terminal, where the US is supporting Sri Lanka's ongoing economic recovery through USD 553 million in financing to transform Colombo into a regional shipping hub. Verma will meet with civil society leaders in Sri Lanka to hear their perspectives on democratic governance in Sri Lanka and with government officials to voice US support for the protection of free speech and open discourse. (ANI)
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