Senior US State Dept official to visit India for strategic talks

A senior State Department official will travel to India next month as part of her four-nation tour focussing on the Trump administration's trade and security strategy in the Indo-Pacific region.

Manisha Singh, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, will travel to Tokyo, Manila, Singapore, and Mumbai from August 26 to September 5.

Singh, 46, who was born in Uttar Pradesh, was last year nominated by President Donald Trump to the key administration position in the State Department, making her in charge of economic diplomacy.

A State Department statement said that during her travel, Singh will share the administration's strategy for ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region, including the recent launch of new infrastructure and digital economy initiatives.

Singh will meet with US companies and government officials in all the four countries to talk about steps the Trump administration is taking to support fair trade and free markets, women's economic empowerment, and economic growth and security.

In Mumbai, she will also participate in a panel at the US-India Business Council's 43rd Annual General Meeting and Ideas Summit.

Singh's visit to India comes a day before Secretary of State Micheal Pompeo and Secretary of Defence James Mattis' visit to New Delhi for the 2+2 dialogue on September 6.

In Singapore, Singh will participate in the East Asia Summit Economic Ministers Meeting. This follows Pompeo's participation in the annual US-ASEAN Ministerial meetings in Singapore earlier this month.