India, US to hold final agenda talks for Obama visit

Oct,19, US Undersecretary of State William Burns and chief pointperson for South Asia Robert Blake will hold two-day talks here starting Thursday, barely three weeks before President Barack Obama touches down in India.Topping a series of preparatory meetings aimed at firming up deliverables during the presidential visit, Burns and Blake, the US assistant secretary of state for South Asia, are expected to meet Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Indian officials Thursday-Friday, official sources said. They may also call on External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna.This will be the final round of agenda-setting talks before Obama comes on his maiden visit to India, likely Nov 5-8.The talks will try to iron out differences over contentious issues like the hike in H1B visa fees, curbs on outsourcing and the civil nuclear liability legislation.The two sides will focus on issues such as the easing of high-tech exports that could give a historic character to Obama’s visit to India.There will be talks on removing Indian firms from the banned ‘entities list’ that could signal the relaxation of much-needed high-tech exports to India, said informed sources.India is being denied technology in 11 of the 16 categories, just one short of both Pakistan and China, while most European nations figure in just four categories and Canada faces restrictions on just two counts.Krishna had last week said India would raise concerns expressed by its IT industry over the US curbs on outsourcing when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets the US president next month and will press for lifting restrictions on exports of high-technology.The visit by Burns and Blake follow a string of recent high profile visits from Indian ministers to the US.These include trips by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna.National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao too met top US officials in Washington to firm up agenda for Obama’s visit.Last week, Blake had announced that Obama was planning a landmark visit to India in November.“I foresee our great nations becoming ever closer in the years and decades to come. President Obama intends to make a landmark visit to India in November to help further grow the ties between our two knowledge societies, our economies, and our people,” he said at the San Diego World Affairs Council.
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