India and the United States to hold the fourth strategic dialogue; US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in India; Secretary Kerry: India can play a central role in helping the Government of Afghanistan improve its electoral system and create a credibl
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    • According to reports, US Secretary of State John Kerry will co-chair the fourth annual India-US strategic dialogue with External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid which is scheduled to be held on June 24 in New Delhi. Kerry arrived in Indian capital on June 23, accompanied by a high level delegation, on a three-day visit to India. Secretary Kerry will also meet Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Ahead of this dialogue, Vikram Kumar Doraiswami, Joint Secretary (Americas) in the Ministry of External Affairs noted that this is the first high-political interaction in the second term of the Obama presidency. He stated, "So, it is part of the process of taking forward the India-US relationship which currently is one of our more intense and more in-depth partnerships as it covers interaction across most of the spheres of government work," In this dialogue, bilateral trade, defence and security cooperation, energy and higher education will top the agenda.1

    Meanwhile, according to reports, ahead of India seeking replies on the new Afghan peace process, US Secretary of State John Kerry on June 23 advocated a central role for New Delhi in organising next year’s presidential elections. At the same time, he said Taliban has to adhere to the redlines to reach any political settlement. He stated said in his hour-long speech on US-India Strategic Partnership, “The world’s largest democracy can play a central role in helping the Government of Afghanistan improve its electoral system and create a credible and independent framework for resolving disputes,”. Assuring that no agreement would be rushed through, Kerry said the US knows that “a final settlement may be long in coming”. Welcoming the 21 per cent increase in Indo-Pak trade, Kerry said it could be the harbinger of “a new era of new India-Pakistan relations that could be based on mutually beneficial trade, and hopefully bring a level of trust”. “The world’s largest democracy and the world’s oldest democracy must do more together, uniting not only as a threat to anyone, to counter-weigh some region or other countries, but unite as partners building a strong smart future in a critical age,” Kerry said. 2

    In other developments, according to reports, Afghan president Hamid Karzai on June 19 suspended talks with the United States on a new security deal to protest the way his government was being left out of initial peace negotiations with the Taliban meant to find ways to end the nearly 12-year war. The move by Hamid Karzai could derail the peace process even before it has begun. In a terse statement from his office, Karzai said negotiations with the US on what American and coalition security forces will remain in the country after 2014 have been put on hold. It stated, "In view of the contradiction between acts and the statements made by the United States of America in regard to the peace process, the Afghan government suspended the negotiations, currently underway in Kabul between Afghan and US delegations on the bilateral security agreement," statement said. 3

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