S Jaishankar, Piyush Goyal to visit US this month

PTI

Washington, September 1

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal are scheduled to visit the United States this month for various multilateral and bilateral meetings as New Delhi accelerates its engagement with the world post-Ukraine war.

Jaishankar will primarily travel to New York to attend and address the annual General Assembly session of the United Nations. On its sidelines, he will be holding a series of bilateral meetings, the details of which are still being worked out.

The focus of India's engagement this year at the United Nations would be the reform of the UN Security Council, counter-terrorism, peacekeeping, climate change and issues of food security and supply chain which have become critical in the wake of the Ukrainian war.

From New York, Jaishankar is scheduled to travel to Washington DC for a meeting with his American counterpart, Antony Blinken, along with other top officials of the Biden administration at the White House and other major wings of the government.

In addition to having meetings with US lawmakers and think-tanks, the external affairs minister is also planning to meet a host of eminent Indian-American diaspora leaders.

Jaishankar is scheduled to travel to the US later this month, but the high-level visits would kick off with that of Goyal, who is travelling to Los Angeles to attend the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Ministerial on September 8-9.

To be co-hosted by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, the IPEF Ministerial in Los Angeles builds on the constructive virtual meetings with 13 Indo-Pacific partners held this year before and after President Joe Biden officially launched the IPEF to develop a high-standard and inclusive economic framework that will fuel economic activity and investment, promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and benefit workers and consumers across the region, a US media statement said.

Goyal is expected to spend some time in San Francisco for a high-level discussion with leaders of the corporate sector and those from the Silicon Valley, and interact with the diaspora.

Visits of three other Indian ministers are being worked out. These are Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh and Union Power Minister RK Singh.

They are likely to attend the Clean Energy Ministerial in Pittsburgh on September 22-23. Given that India aspires to be the leading clean energy economy of the world in the coming years, the possible visit of the three ministers to the two-day high-profile event in Pittsburgh is significant. 

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