Washington DC, February 21, 2013. Indian Foreign Secretary Mr. Ranjan Mathai completed a series of very useful and important interactions at the State Department, including a brief call upon the new U.S. Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, according to a press release by the Embassy of India in Washington DC.

In his meeting with Secretary Kerry, Indian Foreign Secretary extended to him the good wishes of India's leadership, and their congratulations upon his appointment as Secretary of State. The Foreign Secretary discussed the proposed visit to India by Secretary Kerry for the Third Round of the Bilateral Strategic Dialogue. While dates for this being finalized, Secretary Kerry reaffirmed his invitation to the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Salman Khurshid to visit the United States soon.

Secretary Kerry offered his sincere condolences at the loss of life as a result of the terror attacks in Hyderabad today, and the condemnation of the government and the people of the United States. This was reiterated at all of Foreign Secretary’s meetings with United States officials today.

The Foreign Secretary also called upon Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman. He had a conversation over lunch with Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment Robert Hormats as well as extensive and wide-ranging consultations with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman during which the two sides covered bilateral, regional and global issues.

In these discussions, the importance of the bilateral partnership in key areas, including energy, trade and economic development, as well as our existing regional and international consultations were reaffirmed.

In the year ahead, it is intended that the two sides would increase the frequency and pace of bilateral consultations, including at official and political levels.

Earlier in the day Mr. Ranjan Mathai set out a detailed blueprint of the bilateral relationship in an address on India and the United States in the 21st century, covering all areas of the bilateral partnership, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The text of the speech is available on the websites of Ministry of External Affairs and the Embassy of India in Washington DC.