India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with senior U.S. officials on a variety of bilateral, regional, and international problems on Monday, ahead of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to the United States.
Misri met with Richard Verma, the Deputy Secretary for Management, and Kurt Campbell, the Deputy Secretary of State for the United States. India’s ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, was also present.
The two-way trade between India and the US has grown from USD 20 billion in 2000 to USD 195 billion in 2023, while the defense trade has climbed from zero to USD 24 billion in the same time frame, according to Richard Verma, who gave a presentation titled “US-India Relations: By the Numbers.”
In 2024, two-way trade is anticipated to surpass $200 billion, he continued. While the Indian diaspora currently numbers over five million people, up from 1.9 million in 2000, the number of Indian students in the United States has grown from just 54,664 in 2000 to over 330,000 in 2023.
According to Verma, a record 130 Indian Americans were appointed to key positions during the Biden-Harris administration. India has the best military today.
Jaishankar will be on a US trip from December 24 to 29. Following Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election on November 5, this will be Jaishankar’s first trip to the United States. In the midst of the Biden administration’s handover of power to the incoming Trump administration, the external affairs minister will be hosting a high-level bilateral meeting.
