India and the US are expected to discuss further strengthening of their strategic partnership in key areas, and collaboration on security in the Indo- Pacific region when US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson holds talks with the Indian leadership here tomorrow.
Tillerson, who is the second high-ranking official of the Trump Administration to visit India in last two months, will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hold talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
US Defence Secretary James Mattis visited India last month.
Ahead of Tillerson's three-day visit, the external affairs ministry had said that there will be detailed discussions on further strengthening of Indo-US partnership.
Strengthening cooperation in strategic areas of defence, counter terrorism, security, energy and trade are expected to figure during the meeting between Swaraj and Tillerson.
Tillerson, who paid a surprise visit to Afghanistan yesterday, said the Trump administration was of the view that India can play a positive role in creating a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.
He also asserted that America's relationship with India is of strategic importance which is not limited to South Asia.
In a major India-policy speech, Tillerson said last week that the US is India's "reliable partner" at the world stage in this period of uncertainty and angst.
He also referred to the rise of China, saying its behaviour and action were "posing a challenge to the rules- based international order".
"China, while rising alongside India, has done so less responsibly, at times undermining the international, rules- based order -- even as countries like India operate within a framework that protects other nations' sovereignty," he had told a Washington audience ahead of his maiden visit here.
"China's provocative actions in the South China Sea directly challenge the international law and norms that the US and India both stand for," he had said.
The two sides will discuss key bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Tillerson's visit also comes at a time when the Trump Administration is "considering" India's request for armed drones for its air force.
Earlier this year, the IAF had requested the US government for General Atomics Predator C Avenger aircraft. It is understood that the IAF would need 80 to 100 units making it approximately a whopping USD 8 billion deal.
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