US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti lauded US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Rena Bitter and India's consular team for a 75 per cent reduction in visitor visa wait times and for issuing over 1 million visas.
"We're very excited to be here. This is the 11th annual dialogue on consular issues that we've had with our partners in the Indian government. There are a lot of issues for us to cover and a lot of really good news for us to cover. We'll talk a lot about the incredible explosion in travel
US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Rena Bitter, will be travelling to India during which she will engage with embassy and consulate colleagues in Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey R Pyatt on Monday lauded Indian Navy action against the Houthis and said it shows India's capacity as a net security provider in the wider region benefits the United States.
Pyatt also said that US national advisors have recently decided to announce the addition of critical minerals and clean energy technology as new pillars to the iCET framework, emphasising the aim to accelerate deployment and foster collaboration between laboratories in innovative domains.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, Geoffrey R. Pyatt, will visit India on January 26 to speak on two panels at the India-US Forum, with a focus on shared energy priorities along with other challenges.
US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu will be travelling to India to prepare for the US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue and discuss strategic coordination on multiple issues.
Ahead of the upcoming India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, US Assistant Secretary for Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu said that Washington would be interested to know about the discussions between New Delhi and Beijing regarding the border standoff.
US Assistant Secretary for Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu said that the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is a "key part" of State Secy Antony Blinken's upcoming visit and major focus of the discussions would be towards keeping the Indo-Pacific "free, open, prosperous, and secure".
The U.S. delegation was led by US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Rena Bitter while the Indian delegation was led by Joint Secretary, Consular Passport and Visa (CPV) Division in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Devesh Uttam.
"Concerning Chinese loans to countries in India's immediate neighbourhood, we are deeply concerned that loans may be used for coercive leverage," Lu said.
In response to a question on the three countries being among the 32 nations that abstained in Thursday's UN General Assembly, Lu responded, "It's clear to us that the countries of Central Asia and India have had long, complex relations with Russia".