Top U.S. diplomat Donald Lu to visit India, Bangladesh

U.S. officials to visit India and Bangladesh for strategic talks on defense, economic growth, and bilateral partnerships.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu will be in India and Bangladesh for the September 10 -16 period, the U.S. State Department announced. Mr Lu will be in India for the U.S. - India “2+2” foreign and defence ministry intersessional dialogue.

A top U.S. Defence Department officer for Indo Pacific strategy, Jedidiah P. Royal, will represent the Department of Defence at the talks in New Delhi. The sixth annual 2+2 dialogue is expected to be held in Washington DC this year, led by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the Indian side and their counterparts, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on the U.S. side.

“The [ Intersessional ] Dialogue will identify opportunities to enhance the U.S.-India bilateral partnership, including defense cooperation, and expand U.S.-India collaboration in the Indo-Pacific and beyond,” the State Department said. The talks also come ten days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. for a summit level meeting of the Quad (a groupd comprised of India, the U.S., Australia and Japan), hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden in Delware and the “Summit of the Future” organised by the United Nations.

In Bangladesh, Mr Lu will join an economic dialogue with the interim government of Bangladesh, reportedly on September 14 and 15. This is being led by the U.S. Treasury Department but will include delegates from the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development and the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The aim is to discuss U.S. support to Bangladesh’s economic growth, development and financial stability, the State Department said in a statement.

The U.S. visit to Bangladesh represents a change in tone from its relationship with the administration of former Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, who has been in exile in India since August. Ms Hasina had blamed the U.S. for playing a role in ousting her. The State Department had denied having any role in the events.