The US secretary of state, John Kerry is in India. Among other engagements, Kerry will take part in the fourth India-US strategic dialogue in New Delhi. On the agenda are a slew of bilateral issues, from the status of the civil nuclear agreement, to H1B visas, to increased access for US companies in India.
It may sound like more of the same old stuff. But this bilateral comes at a politically significant moment, when a) the Taliban has established an embassy-cum-government in exile in Qatar, with US blessing; b) India and the US have both been paid a visit by the new Chinese leadership; c) the Nuclear Suppliers Group has met without including India, thereby leaving the civilian nuclear issue hanging; and d) US immigration reforms can negatively affect visas for India’s software engineers—and our biggest export to the US.