US Secretary of State John Kerry today met Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi.

The two leaders discussed issues of bilateral interest and global significance. Mr Kerry described his meeting with Mr Jaitley as very good. Official sources said the two leaders discussed insurance, foreign direct investment and WTO issues.

They also said that the US is upbeat and are keen to invest in insurance and defence sector through FDI in India.

Earlier in the day, Kerry also met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Secretary Kerry, who is on a three-day visit to India, will co-chair the fifth Indo-US Strategic dialogue with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj later today followed by delegation-level talks.

It is the first high-level political interaction between the two countries after a new government came to power in India.

The focus areas of the dialogue are security, energy, trade and investment, science and technology, human resources development and regional and international issues.

Secretary Kerry and Ms. Swaraj are expected to explore new frontiers and initiatives to further promote bilateral relations.

The focus will be on enhancing convergence between the two countries in various areas on a wide canvas of partnership that the two largest democracies in the world enjoy. The meeting is also expected to lay the ground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s much-awaited visit to the US later this year.

Secretary Kerry will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow.