Mike Pompeo and Jim Mattis arrive in Delhi for strategic talks between India and the United States

New Delhi:

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis arrived on Wednesday to begin two or two inaugural talks with their Indian counterparts. import from Iran.

Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs, highlighted the importance of Thursday's talks, while Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman welcomed his American counterpart Jim Mattis to Palam airport.

Ms. Swaraj and Ms. Sitharaman will hold the dialogue twice with Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Mattis. The president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, General Joseph Dunford, is also part of the US delegation.

"In a special gesture symbolizing our warm and friendly relationship, EAM @SushmaSwaraj received the US Secretary of State @SecPompeo at the airport for his first visit to India," said MEA spokesman , Raveesh Kumar.

The Minister of External Affairs will hold a separate bilateral meeting with Mr. Pompeo, while Ms. Sitharaman will meet with Mr. Mattis on Thursday morning prior to the two plus two talks at the delegation level.

Twelve officials from each side are expected to attend the discussions which will be followed by a working lunch. In the afternoon, Ms. Swaraj, Ms. Sitharaman, Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Mattis will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

While Secretary Pompeo has arrived in Delhi from Islamabad, India will also try to get an idea of ​​its engagement with the new Pakistani government led by Prime Minister Imran Khan, according to official sources.

In these talks, India will also try to "sensitize" the United States to any reduction in the import of Iranian oil in accordance with US sanctions, which could have a negative impact on the country's economy.

India should also inform the United States of the importance of the Russian 40,000 rupee agreement that it is about to finalize with Russia to buy a batch of S-400 Triumf air defense missile systems . The United States indicated that it did not want India to reach agreement.

The sources said the two sides will also discuss the long-standing communication, compatibility and security agreement (COMCASA). COMCASA will assist India in obtaining critical and encrypted defense technologies for Indian defense platforms in the United States. The sources said the text of the agreement was almost ready.

They said the two sides would also explore ways to strengthen engagement between their navies in the Indo-Pacific region and try to resolve tariff issues.

Regarding the import of Iranian oil, the sources said that India could also transmit to the United States that some of its refineries depend on a certain type of crude oil and that technical adjustments might require considerable investment as well as time.

After being removed from the Iranian nuclear deal, the United States imposed sanctions on Iran. He has asked India and other countries to zero oil imports from the Gulf country by 4 November or to face sanctions.