John Kerry to visit India, Bangladesh

US Secretary of State John Kerry is set to visit India and Bangladesh to hold discussions to broaden bilateral ties, according to an official statement.

Kerry will travel to Dhaka on August 29 to highlight the longstanding and broad US-Bangladesh relationship, the State Department statement said on Wednesday.

"Secretary Kerry will meet with government officials to discuss our growing cooperation on global issues," the statement said.

"He also will focus on strengthening our longstanding bilateral partnership on democracy, development, security and human rights."

On August 29-31, Kerry will travel to New Delhi, for meetings with senior Indian officials.

On August 30, the Secretary and US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker will co-chair the second US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue.

Secretarie Kerry and Pritzker will be joined by their respective Indian co-chairs, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, along with members of the US delegation and their Indian counterparts.

"The Strategic and Commercial Dialogue is the signature mechanism for advancing the US' and India's shared priorities of generating sustainable economic growth, creating jobs, improving the business and investment climate, enhancing livelihoods, and sustaining the rules-based global order," the statement added.

--IANS

ksk/ab/vm