US Secretary of State John Kerry to arrive on July 30

United States Secretary of State John Kerry will arrive in New Delhi on July 30 on a three-day visit during which he will hold talks with Indian leaders on a range of key bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest besides co-chairing the fifth India-US Strategic Dialogue.

It will be Kerry's first visit to India after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government came to power. "External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will host US Secretary of State John Kerry in New Delhi from July 30 to August 1. The Swaraj and Kerry will co-chair the fifth India-US Strategic Dialogue on July 31," the external affairs ministry said.

Kerry and Swaraj are expected to prepare the ground for a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama, who has invited the Indian leader for a meeting in Washington. Modi is expected to visit the US in September.

The ministry said Swaraj and Kerry will exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest during the annual Strategic Dialogue. On the bilateral front, their focus will be on expanding cooperation in areas of security, trade and investment, science and technology, energy and environment.

Kerry is expected to meet Indian leaders including the prime minister. He will also visit Bangalore. The US secretary of state will be accompanied by a high-level inter-agency delegation with representatives from the departments of commerce, energy, homeland security, department of state among others.

Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Deputy Secretary of Department of Energy Daniel Poneman, Under Secretary of Department of Homeland Security Francis X Taylor and Special Envoy for Climate Change in Department of State Todd Stern will be part of the delegation.

India and the US had launched the Strategic Dialogue in July 2009, focusing on five pillars of mutual interest namely Strategic Cooperation, Energy and Climate Change, Education and Development, Economy and Trade, Science and Technology and Health and Innovation.

The first Strategic Dialogue was held in Washington in June 2010, followed by successive rounds in New Delhi in July 2011, Washington (June 2012) and New Delhi (June 2013).