The second round of the strategic and commercial dialogue between India and the US on August 30 is unlikely to result in a breakthrough on contentious issues, including the hike in visa fees and trade barriers.
It may may make some progress on issues related to smart cities, a standard protocol for import of information technology products to India, travel and tourism, and cooperation in cyber security.
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The meeting will be held between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and US Secretary of State John Kerry. A similar meeting will take place between Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her US counterpart Penny Pritzker.
Officials said both sides would continue with the initiatives undertaken during the first round of talks, which took place in September in Washington. Though the first round was received well by both sides, this time it is expected to be mere rhetoric in the run-up to the US presidential elections.
"The US side is likely to leave negotiations on key issues, including the bilateral investment treaty and trade barriers, for the next administration," an official said.
Rajeswari P Rajagopalan, senior fellow with the Observer Research Foundation, said, "Given this meeting is taking place at the fag end of the Obama administration, the US could well have cancelled the dialogue. The fact that it did not signifies the growing bonhomie between the two countries."
Officials said Kerry and Swaraj were likely to discuss recent developments in Asia and the South China Sea dispute. But these are unlikely to find mention in the joint statement because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Besides the strategic dialogue, the countries will engage in trade talks. India is likely to register its protest against the recent hike in US visa fees. The US maintains there is no dearth of applications from India seeking H1B and L1 visas.
The countries may agree to a standard protocol for importing information technology products into India.
According to a high-ranking US official, demand from India for visas in both categories remained high.
US assistant secretary of state for consular affairs Michele Bond on Tuesday said over 70 per cent of the H1-B visas go to Indians, the highest for any country. he was here for the fifth annual Consular dialogue.
On the contentious issue of import of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products to India, both countries may move forward by agreeing to standard protocol for importing each product. "The standard protocol will help the US companies clearly understand the needs of India," says an official.
The US has been pushing India to do away with testing of its products in India, but New Delhi feels this is important for security and privacy.
India and the US are yet to sign a bilateral investment treaty, but they expect bilateral trade will climb to $500 billion per annum in the next few years from $100 billion now. Trade in goods between the countries was $62 billion in 2015-16.
The US is also expected to extend support to three more smart cities in India. US companies are now helping develop Visakhapatnam.
Commerce ministry officials said India would also take up ongoing trade rows with the US, besides showcasing recent policy initiatives for ease of doing business in the country.
"Ease of doing business and the need for a uniform standard regime will be among the focus areas," said Sandip Samaddar, head of Ficci's US desk. "Cooperation in the travel and tourism sector will also be discussed," he added.
Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry is expected to lead the Indian side at the Indo-US CEO dialogue.
