WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State John Kerry and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker arrive in New Delhi on Monday for the last round of the US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue under the Obama administration, officials said.

The meeting is scheduled on Aug 30 but Secretary Kerry would reach New Delhi on Aug 29 from Dhaka.

A senior US official told journalists in Washington that this would be an opportunity for the two countries to reflect upon the progress made under the outgoing Obama administration. The two sides would also “chart a path forward on where we want to go and how we want to use this relationship,” the official added.

Officials from 12 different US government agencies will participate in these talks, which secretaries Kerry and Pritzker would co-chair with the India External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This would be the seventh US-India strategic dialogue process, which began in 2009.

In 2015, the two sides added the commercial track to the dialogue, further enhancing the space for bilateral cooperation.

Secretary Kerry will also hold a bilateral meeting with Ms Swaraj and India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. He would meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 31, the US official said.

The official said that the US-India relationship was beyond bilateral cooperation and also addressed regional and global challenges.

“We want to use this relationship to as Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi has said to not only advance the interest of the American people and the Indian people but really to advance and benefit global issues,” the senior State Department official added.

“We are looking to engage with and partner with India in addressing those challenges. And India will increasingly play a consequential role in advancing peace and security across the Indian Ocean and across the globe.”

Our New Delhi correspondent adds: Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will visit Washington at the same time, The Hindu said. Tensions between India and Pakistan are expected to be raised by one or both. The signing of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) is likely to top the agenda of Mr Parrikar in the US capital, The Hindu said.

It said while the US is keen to have the LEMOA signed, India is pushing for forward movement on high technology trade. With the induction into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) earlier this year, India sees itself as eligible for higher technology purchases.

Ratification of the Paris climate treaty by India and its admission into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) will be on the agenda for the S&C dialogue. India and the US started the annual strategic dialogue in 2009 and the commercial track was added last year, recognising that both aspects are often intertwined.

“The two governments are also likely to continue discussing strategic topics ranging from climate change cooperation, national security and counter-terrorism, priorities in the Indian Ocean region as well as top economic priorities such as positioning US companies for success at the sub-national level. In particular, the commercial track of the dialogue will continue to see heightened focus on ease of doing business, the US-India partnership on tourism, developing a digital infrastructure, and roundtables on infrastructure and clean energy,” Mukesh Aghi, president, USIBC (US India Business Council) was quoted as saying.

There is an increasing sense among the US policy makers that while the Modi government is open to investment, it is as reticent as previous governments on trade, the paper said.

“I think on the investment climate, there would be more positive views than negative. The Modi government has lifted FDI caps at a record pace, personally courted investors, and the FDI inflows are among the highest of any country. But on the trade side, there is disappointment. We’ll likely end the Obama tenure without any progress on neither a Bilateral Investment Treaty nor a common vision or approach to key issues at the World Trade Organisation,” The Hindu quoted Richard M. Rossow as saying.

He is Wadhwani Chair in the US India Policy Studies at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Both countries may finalise and announce a framework for cooperation on cyber security, said Mr Rossow.

“Setting the rules of coordination in this space is critical, and will mark real progress. Otherwise, this will be mostly about wrapping up smaller issues and setting plans for engagement in the next US administration,” he said.

During Mr Parrikar’s visit, India’s request for unmanned aircraft Predator for maritime domain awareness will be on the agenda. Membership of the MTCR makes India eligible for purchasing them from the private sector manufacturer General Atomics and the proposal is under the active consideration of the U.S government.

The US State Department’s assessment of global investment climates recently was critical of India, but “overall, US industry continues to be very bullish on the economic opportunities in India,” said Mr Aghi. “…while industry is often anxious to see reforms passed quickly, industry also recognises and respects the fact that India is a robust democracy where any reform most be a consensus-driven process. American industry is buoyed by the passage of the GST, a bankruptcy and arbitration code, and the real estate bill. Issues that were earlier insurmountable are now back on the table and being tackled through consistent dialogues,” Mr Aghi was quoted as saying.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2016