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Pompeo to boost ties with Modi on India visit

Washington - Pompeo will also visit Sri Lanka in the aftermath of coordinated Easter Sunday attacks.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday he would visit India this month to forge closer relations with re-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Pompeo told reporters that he would outline areas for new cooperation with Modi's India during a speech Wednesday in Washington ahead of his trip to New Delhi.
He will also travel to Sri Lanka, Japan, and the Republic of Korea to broaden and deepen our partnerships with key countries to advance our shared goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus, speaking after Pompeo, said the top US diplomat could leave for Delhi on June 24.

"Prime Minister Modi's recent election victory provides an excellent opportunity for him to implement his vision of a strong and prosperous India that plays a leading role on the global stage," she said.

Pompeo will work with Modi to "broaden our partnership" in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region - a growing catchphrase from Washington amid high tensions between the United States and China.

Modi, who won a convincing new mandate in the world's largest elections, has supported growing cooperation with the United States, especially on defense.

But trade tensions have also been rising between the two countries, with President Donald Trump's administration forcing energy-hungry India to stop buying oil from Iran and Venezuela.

Complaining of closed markets, Trump has also removed India from the Generalised System of Preferences, a key trading preference under which India exported $5.6 billion in goods to the United States in 2017.

Pompeo will also visit Sri Lanka in the aftermath of coordinated Easter Sunday attacks against three hotels and three churches, which left 258 people dead and 500 injured.

Pompeo "will express America's solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka as they stand united against the despicable Easter Sunday attacks" and also look at further opportunities with the Indian Ocean nation, Ortagus said.
Pompeo will later join President Donald Trump at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka and on his visit to South Korea to meet with Moon Jae-in, Ortagus said.
The two leaders will also discuss ways to strengthen the United States-Republic of Korea alliance.  Trump and Moon will continue their close coordination on efforts to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.