Afghanistan and China top agenda as US’s Blinken begins India visit

dpa New Delhi US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began a two-day visit to India on Tuesday, during which he will conduct talks on a range of issues, inc...

dpaNew Delhi US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began a two-day visit to India on Tuesday, during which he will conduct talks on a range of issues, including the security situation in Afghanistan and the strengthening of Indo-Pacific engagement with an eye to China.Blinken’s first visit to India as secretary of state was an opportunity to bolster the India-US global partnership, India’s Foreign Ministry said.Blinken is scheduled to have talks with External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.“Discussions will focus on regional and global issues of mutual interest - including recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Indo-Pacific region, Afghanistan and cooperation at the UN,” the ministry said.Both sides will discuss the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, where the Islamist Taliban is rapidly expanding the territory it controls in the wake of a US troop withdrawal.Despite the Taliban’s stated aim of overthrowing the Afghan government, US President Joe Biden has announced that the US will end its Afghanistan mission on August 31 - after almost 20 years.The evolving situation in the Indo-Pacific region against the backdrop of China’s military posturing also features prominently on the talks agenda, Indian analysts said.The Delhi talks are expected to lay the groundwork for a summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue - comprising Australia, India, Japan and the US - later this year, domestic media reported.The grouping is seen as a regional bulwark against Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.Besides cooperation in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, Blinken is also expected to raise India’s human rights record as well as a recent religion-based citizenship law widely seen as discriminatory towards Muslims.After wrapping up his meetings in Delhi, Blinken will travel to Kuwait late on Wednesday.