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John Kerry meets PM Modi

by IBNS 01 Aug 2014, 11:54 am

New Delhi, Aug 1 (IBNS): USA Secretary of State John Kerry and USA Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker on Friday called on the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here.

Minister for External Affairs and Overseas Indian Affairs,  Sushma Swaraj was also present.

Kerry, who was in India since Wednesday, is leaving for USA today.
 
Earlier on Thursday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Secretary of State John F. Kerry led their respective delegations to the fifth annual India-U.S. Strategic Dialogue where both the leaders committed to intensify efforts to combat terrorism.

The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement: "Faced by a common threat from terrorism, including in South Asia, the two leaders committed to intensify efforts to combat terrorism, proliferation of WMDs, nuclear terrorism, cross-border crime, and address the misuse of the internet for terrorist purposes, in compliance with respective laws."

"The two leaders welcomed the continuation of the Counter-Terrorism Joint Working Group process, sustained exchanges of senior experts, and the upcoming meeting of the Working Group in 2014. They also welcomed plans to hold the next Ministerial Homeland Security Dialogue. They agreed to have their Central Authorities meet to discuss ways to improve mutual legal assistance and extradition processes.They also agreed to work towards greater cooperation in cyber security and reducing cybercrime," read the statement.

The two sides recognized that the decisive mandate provided by the Indian people to their new government provided a unique opportunity to re-energize this relationship.

They expressed confidence that the Summit Meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama in Washington D.C. in September 2014 would generate new dynamism in the relationship, the MEA said.

The two sides welcomed the participation of Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman in the Strategic Dialogue and the productive discussions they held on bilateral trade and economic issues in their inaugural meeting.