New Delhi (Sputnik): Vijay Gokhale is in the US for a bilateral Foreign Office Consultation and Strategic Security Dialogue with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Andrea Thompson.
"These are regular high-level dialogue mechanisms to review bilateral relations, exchange views on major foreign policy and security-related developments and coordinate respective positions on issues of common interest", Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said through a ministry release on Monday.
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Although the visit was planned earlier, the security situation in South Asia in the aftermath of the India-Pakistan conflict is likely to be high on agenda, one of the sources in the Ministry of External Affairs told Sputnik.
Tensions between neighbouring India and Pakistan escalated after Indian Air Force jets struck alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps in Balakot inside Pakistani territory in pre-dawn strikes on 26 February. The Indian attack came in response to the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 Indian paramilitary forces in Kashmir — an attack for which Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility.