According to India West, newly sworn-in American Secretary of State John Kerry, favors strong ties with India.
“I was very honored to be sworn in and very anxious to get to work”, Kerry told the media. Kerry is a strong advocate of peace talks between India and Pakistan and believes there are relationships that will be vital in the 21st century between Washington and New Delhi.
Although dates have yet to be announced, Kerry will lead a high-powered American delegation to India sometime in the middle of this year for the next round of the India-U.S. Strategic Dialogue; which was started by his predecessor Clinton and former External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna in 2010 in Washington.
He plans on tackling the country’s foreign policy and national security on a range of issues including Afghanistan and Pakistan, nuclear nonproliferation, and global climate change. During Kerry’s tenure, the State Department is unlikely to see major changes in the American policies towards India, and efforts to take it to the next level will be taken, since relationships with India reached an auto mode wherein change in personalities is unlikely to derail the relationship.
“There are few relationships that will be as vital in the 21st century as our growing ties with India and its people. On all of the most critical global challenges that we face, India has a central role to play,” said the new secretary of state.
“And that means that Washington is going to be looking to New Delhi not only for cooperation, but increasingly for innovation and regional leadership as well.” added Kerry.
