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Foreign Secretary Vikrma Misri will travel to Washington, DC for a two-day visit to the US to meet senior officials of the administration from May 27-29.
Misri's visit to Washington, DC, is a follow up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US in February this year, when both nations had launched the India-US COMPACT (Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology) for the 21st Century, according to Ministry of External Affairs' statement. MEA stated, "Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri will be visiting Washington, D.C., USA from 27-29 May 2025 to meet senior officials of the US Administration. The visit is a follow up to Prime Minister's visit to the United States in February 2025, when both sides had launched the India-U.S. COMPACT (Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology) for the 21st Century." India and the US bolstered their ties during PM Modi's two-day visit with a series of initiatives across several sectors. US President Donald Trump and PM Modi launched a new initiative -'US-India COMPACT for the 21st Century' - to drive transformative change across key pillars of cooperation. Under this initiative, they committed to a results-driven agenda with initial outcomes this year to demonstrate the level of trust for a mutually beneficial partnership. This was PM Modi's first visit to the US since President Donald Trump's inauguration of the second presidential term in January. PM Modi is among the first few world leaders to visit the United States following the inauguration of Trump and was invited to visit the US within barely three weeks of the new administration. Highlighting the deepening convergence of US-India strategic interests, the leaders reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to a dynamic defence partnership spanning multiple domains, according to joint statement released after their bilateral meeting. To further advance defence ties, the leaders announced plans to sign this year a new ten-year Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership in the 21st Century. The leaders welcomed the significant integration of U.S.-origin defence items into India's inventory to date, including C-130J Super Hercules, C-17 Globemaster III, P-8I Poseidon aircraft; CH-47F Chinooks, MH-60R Seahawks, and AH-64E Apaches; Harpoon anti-ship missiles; M777 howitzers; and MQ-9Bs. The leaders also pledged to elevate military cooperation across all domains - air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace - through enhanced training, exercises, and operations, incorporating the latest technologies. Recognising that this level of ambition would require new, fair-trade terms, the leaders announced plans to negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by the fall of 2025. The leaders committed to designate senior representatives to advance these negotiations and to ensure that the trade relationship fully reflects the aspirations of the COMPACT. (ANI)
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