Indian Ambassador Kwatra discusses strengthening India-US partnership with top state dept official Verma

India’s new ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra has met Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma to discuss strengthening the Indo-US strategic partnership.

The meeting comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to New York to address the UN General Assembly next month.

Kwatra assumed charge as India’s Ambassador to the US on August 12.

On Wednesday, Kwatra met Verma a week after the top US official visited India and had interaction with multiple Indian leaders, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

“Delighted to meet my friend Rich Verma @DepSecStateMR today. We continued our discussion on ways to forward the India-USA partnership,” Kwatra posted on X after the meeting.

His post was in response to Verma’s post on X welcoming Kwatra to the US.

“Wonderful to welcome my friend Vinay Kwatra in his new role as India’s Ambassador to the United States. Looking forward to working together on strengthening the #USIndia relationship – a partnership of progress and promise,” Verma had written on X and used the hashtag #USIndiaFWD apart from tagging Kwatra and the Indian Embassy here.

On Tuesday, the Indian-American senior diplomat posted about his India trip on X. “Had a productive visit to India last week! We advanced many US priorities including security, climate action, and clean energy. The US+India partnership is filled with promise for the future. @USAndIndia @ClimateAtState,” Verma, a former US ambassador to India, wrote.

Prime Minister Modi will be attending the United Nations Summit of the Future on September 22–23 and is also slated to address the UN General Assembly High-Level Week.

Among other engagements, Modi is also scheduled to address the ‘Modi & US’ Progress Together’ event on September 22 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New York.